Crusty Bread recipe of fabulous deliciousness

Mostly because I told a friend I would get this recipe to her but also because I want to share this easy-peasy bread recipe with everyone. All you need is a dutch oven (a metal pot with a lid that goes in the oven) and a taste for fresh baked bread.

Crusty Bread

Requires a dutch oven

Basic recipe

3 ½ cups Bread Flour

1 ½ tsp    Salt

½    tsp     yeast

1 ¾ cups water (cold or room temperature)

¼     cup whole wheat flour (to be used after rising)

Directions

1.       In a large bowl combine bread flour, salt and yeast. Add water. With a spatula stir until flour is completely moistened but not necessarily smooth. No kneading required. Cover bowl loosely with a piece of plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 8-12 hours or overnight. The dough should double at minimum.

2.       Place dutch oven (with lid) in the oven and preheat the oven to 425F. Set the oven timer for 30 minutes.

3.       When 30 minutes is up, scatter the whole wheat flour over the dough, scraping down the sides in order to allow the whole wheat flour to cover the entire dough. Remove pot lid. Drop dough into the hot pot. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

4.       Remove lid and bake for another 30 minutes.

5.       Let cool in pot. When cool, remove any excess flour.  

Variations

Whole wheat bread: substitute 1 ½ cups of bread flour with 1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour

Walnut bread: add ½ cup chopped walnuts

Rye bread: substitute 1 cup bread flour for 1 cup rye flour. Add 1 tbsp ground flax seed

Raisin bread: Add ½ cup raisins and 1 tsp cinnamon

Additions

A handful of sunflower seeds

A handful of pumpkin seeds

¼ cup ground oatmeal

1 tbsp ground flax seed