Tag Archives: homemade bread

No Knead Homemade Dutch-Oven Bread


We are currently in the process of relocating to the Raleigh, North Carolina region. Which means I am not in my kitchen, and I don’t have all my standard kitchen appliances and utensils. My husband was visiting this past weekend from the burgh, and I wanted to make him a home cooked meal. 

What goes better with a home cooked meal then fresh homemade bread? I realized after I bought all the ingredients, I didn’t have my stand mixer. Oh geez, no worries, I’ll make a No Knead bread. 

This recipe turned out really well without having my stand mixer. After all, that is how our great-grandmothers used to make it. 

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose Unbleached flour, plus more for dusting

 1/4 teaspoon yeast (active dry or instant)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups warm water, not boiling (like bath water)

1 1/2 teaspoon Honey 

Directions: 

1. Combine flour, and salt in a large bowl and wisk together. Set aside. In a small bowl place water, yeast, & honey, allow to rest for 5 minutes or until yeast proofs. After water-yeast liquid proofs (aka bubbles), using a wooden spoon stir in the water mixture into the flour blend until it is well combined.

2. In same bowl, cover the dough with clean towel and let rise at room temperature for at least 3 hours.

3. After 3 hours, the dough will appear as to doubled in size, wet with air bubbles. Transfer the dough to a heavily floured surface and sprinkle dough with 1-2 additional Tablespoons of flour. Fold the dough over about 10 times and shape into ball. 

4. At this time, Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with the Dutch-oven & lid in center of the rack.  In the same bowl, where the dough rised initially, line with parchment paper up the sides (there maybe some residual dough in the bowl, but don’t bother dirtying another pan. Place the dough on the parchment paper-lined bowl. Cut a line or two on top of the dough with a sharp knife to give a stream escape vent for the bread. Cover the dough again with towel to allow the dough to rise for a second time. Place the bowl on top of the preheating oven for about 35 minutes (the warmth from the oven will help the dough rise faster). 

5. After the 35 minutes has elapsed for the dough to rise and giving at least 35-60 minutes for the Dutch-oven to warm up in the oven. Wearing oven-gloves, carefully remove the lid from the dutch-oven and take the parchment paper on both sides of the dough and lift to place the dough and parchment paper in the hot Dutch-oven.  With oven-gloves remaining on, cover the dough with the hot lid. Decrease temperature of oven to 400 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. No peeking! 

6. Remove the Dutch-oven from the oven (always wearing oven-gloves). Remove the lid and place the dough on a wire rack to cool. Allow the bread to cool for 15-20 minutes, even though tempting to cut right away. 

Enjoy with dinner! I made a crockpot beef roast! There will be plenty of juicy beef sauce left for dipping your bread into to soak up the remaining goods. 

Rustic Feta &  Kalamata Olive Loaf

 

Beautiful… Beautiful Bread ❤️

  

If you don’t know it already  I am passionate about baking bread and find time to make a homemade loaf often. Bread takes time and patience and minimal ingredients. I find it magical and always a surprise. 

This recipe yields one loaf and can be made in 2-3 days depending on when you want to bake it. 
Ingredients:

1 tsp honey

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast 

2 tsp kosher salt

1 & 3/4 cup warm water

3 1/2 cups AP flour (plus some for dusting)

1-2 TB Cornmeal 

1/2 cup reduced fat feta 
1/2 cup katamala olives (chopped) 

Dutchoven 7 or 9 qt 

Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Place the water,honey and yeast in a measuring cup and let proof for 5 minutes.

2. In the meantime place flour, & salt in a very large glass bowl. Mix with wooden spoon to incorporate the salt throughout.

3. Once the yeast has proofed ( becomes activated and foamy) add to the dry ingredients. Mix well with wooden spoon (do not knead) and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour at room temperature.

4.Punch down the dough. Turn the dough onto a heavily floured surface; pat into a 9-in. square. Fold square into thirds, forming a 9×3-in. rectangle. Fold rectangle into thirds, forming a 3-in. square. Turn dough over; place in a cooking sprayed bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Punch the dough down and repeat folding process as mentioned in step 4. Return dough to the same bowl; refrigerate, covered, for 24 to 48 hours.

6. Dust bottom of a parchment paper with cornmeal. Turn dough onto a heavily floured surface. Place the olives and feta on the bread and knead them gently into the dough for 6-8 times; shape into a 6-in. round loaf. Place on prepared parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 500 degrees with Dutchoven in the center of the oven. Allow the Dutchoven to heat in oven for 1 hour. Which allows the dough to rise well agai, dough inch in size. 

7. Once dough has rised for the last time, remove plastic wrap & take a sharp knife and a cut design on the of top of loaf to allow steam to escape. I like to make a few silts diagonally.

8. Reduce oven setting to 450°. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid with silicone gloves. Place the dough on parchment paper in to the Dutchoven. Cover with the lid and place the Dutchoven back in the center of the oven. Bake bread 1 hour. No peaking. Remove loaf to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices).




Dutch Oven Homemade Bread

This time of year is my favorite time to bake in the kitchen. The air is crisp and I often spend most my weekend mornings trying new recipes and baking. As the weather starts to get cooler outside that means I can bake more to heat up the house. I love the smell of fresh homemade bread permeating throughout the house. I do believe Yankee Candle even makes a candle with this fragrance but nothing compares to the actual process of baking.

Fresh homemade bread seems to complete a Sunday dinner at our house. I always remember my mom having an Italian loaf with every Sunday family dinner.  My husband’s mom also always had Italian bread from a local bread bakery with all her supper meals she prepared which makes it all more nostalgic for my husband and I.

I made this Dutch-oven bread the other day with pork tenderloin in the slow cooker. It paired really well with parsley potatoes.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (bath water temp; 80° F–90° F)

1 teaspoon honey

1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

3 ½-4 cups bread flour

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil for coating

Prework: Preheat oven to 500 degrees with large Dutch-oven in the oven.

Directions:

  1. Place warm water, honey, salt, & yeast in a glass measuring vessel. Let the yeast proof (becomes foamy) for 5 minutes (if the yeast does not grow, throw it out).
  2. In the meantime portion out the flour in a large electric mixer mixing bowl.  Start with the 3.5 cups and add more (1/4 cup at time), continue to add if dough is too sticky. Once the yeast has proofed add the yeast water mixture to the flour and on low speed with dough hook attachment knead the dough until the dough forms a ball. This should only take a few minutes.
  3. Remove dough from hook and knead with hands on a lightly floured surface to form into ball.
  4. Place evenly one tablespoon of olive oil on the outside of the dough. Place dough ball back in the mixing bowl and cover with a clean cloth towel on top of the preheating oven. You may be tempted to use plastic wrap however trust me use a cloth towel this will allow the dough to breath.
  5. Allow to dough to double in size this should take 45 to 60 minutes. Which works out perfectly because you want your Dutch-oven hot. The Dutch oven should be in the oven at 500 degrees for at least an hour. Don’t skip this step. 
  6. Once the dough is ready place on parchment paper and cut a few slits on the top surface of the loaf with sharp knife. This method will allow the steam to escape.
  7. With oven mitts remove the lid from Dutch oven and place bread in center of the baking vessel. Using oven mitts cover with the lid. Decrease the oven temperature 400 degrees and bake the bread for 45 minutes. Do not peek, trust the Dutch oven.
  8. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack before slicing into.