Crusty Bread

I came across this recipe for crusty bread from a friend on Facebook. So long as you have a dutch oven or any pot with a lid that can be put into an oven, this recipe is amazingly simple. The result is delicious crusty, chewy bread.

Rustic French Boule 

yield: 1 loaf of bread
  
    3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp salt

  1/2 tsp highly active, "rapid-rise" yeast

1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast.  Add water and mix until combined. It will be messy and more than a little unmanageable. 

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Don't knead the dough; simply shape it into a ball. Place the ball of dough on a piece of parchment. The parchment will make transferring the dough and removing the finished bread very easy. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. 

Remove hot pot from the oven and transfer the dough and parchment to the dutch oven. If the parchment hangs outside the lid, that's perfectly fine.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. 

Notes:

• Variations abound with this recipe. Plain is perfectly fine on its own, but it's fun to experiment.
• Rosemary Garlic: Add 1 tbsp of chopped, fresh rosemary and two cloves of minced garlic and you have a delicious, savory bread that's delicious with dinner.
• Cranberry Orange: Add 1 tbsp sugar, 1 cup dried cranberries, and the zest of one organic orange to the flour for a fruity bread that tastes delicious spread with lemon curd or toasted and eaten quickly while still hot.
• Honey Whole Wheat: use 3 cups of white whole wheat pastry flour (King Arthur brand worked wonderfully) and add 1.5 tbsp of honey to the water when you mix the ingredients together.
• Rye: use 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup white whole wheat, and 1 cup rye flour. Add 1 tbsp caraway seeds with flour, salt, and yeast. (You can totally just use Rye and all-purpose flour too, I just happened to have white whole wheat and thought it worked out really well).