No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Are you a novice or an experienced bread baker?  Either way, you’ll love this No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread recipe.  It’s perfect for the beginner and to the experienced baker – there’s life beyond the loaf pan.

Life beyond the 6 X 9

I know it’s hard to venture outside of your typical loaf pans when baking bread or to think there are bread recipes out there that require something different.  Well, ever since I baked bread in the outside wood-fired pizza oven (you can read that post here), I’ve had fun working with shapes outside the typical 6 X 9.  I’ve been loving loaves that have an artisan flair.  Don’t get me wrong, every time I empty the oven and fill my table with fresh loaves of homemade bread, I love everything about them, and I think my 6 X 9’s have artisan written all over them.

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

I’m going to put it right out there.  This dough sets out at room temperature overnight.  The recipe is so simple to make, but you have to plan just a little.  The four basic ingredients, flour, salt, yeast, and water are mixed in a bowl by hand, and that’s it.  A spoon can be used, but I love getting in there with my hands.  One hand did most of the mixing while the other hand held onto the bowl.  The top picture is the dough after the initial mixing.  The second picture that reads 10:15 was taken the next morning before the second step.

After the dough rises overnight or up to 24 hours, it’s placed on a heavily floured work surface and formed into a circle.  No kneading is necessary; you are just shaping.  It’s very natural for you to want to begin kneading and adding more flour because this dough is very loose and wet.  The dough now rests on the floured surface for 2 hours.

A Multi-Grain Topping

The topping is a mixture of roasted sunflower seeds, rolled oats, minced onion, wheat bran, coarse sea salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and ground flax.  This combination has been tweaked from a listing in the Bake from Scratch magazine.  You can make up your own or use what you have in your cabinet.  The topping can be eliminated, and the bread will still be perfect.

Dutch Oven Love

I have three dutch ovens;  one from my godmother, one from my sister Mary Beth that was part of a set and this cast iron beauty from my parents.  Each one of them has their special place in my heart and jobs in my kitchen.  In fact, I’m thinking about featuring them when our kitchen is remodeled.

For this bake, any oven proof dutch oven will work.  A lid will be necessary for the first 30 minutes of baking so make sure you have one.  I used a metal lid for my cast iron pot.  It worked.  Placing a lid on the pot creates steam which gives the loaf a crust that is out of this world.

Because this dough is wet, it’s best to scrape the dough off the floured surface with a spatula and onto a flat board.  The dough is then placed in the pot.  This is not difficult to do, and you cannot hurt this dough.  If you are using a topping, it’s sprinkled on right before it goes in the oven.

There you have it!  A beautiful rustic loaf of bread.  A crust that can’t be beaten and a texture that could hold a stack of your favorite cold cuts.  It’s delicious covered in butter (of course), topped with avocado and onions, toasted – you name it, it’s delicious!  I can’t stress enough how easy this bread is to make and I don’t want you to be discouraged by the overnight rising.  You can do this!!

So what do you think?  Do you bake bread?  We’d love to hear from you so please consider leaving a comment below.

Thanks so much for stopping by,   Rose

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

 

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This recipe is perfect for the beginner bread maker and the seasoned bread baker looking to change things up. The dough rises overnight, so don't forget to plan ahead. This is the perfect recipe to experiment with so get creative and have fun!

Author: Rose at Sock Box 10

Recipe type: Bread

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 4½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2¼ cups lukewarm water
• ¼ cup plain yellow cornmeal, divided
• Multi-Grain Topping
• 3 tablespoons roasted sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon minced dried onion
• 1 tablespoon wheat bran
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and yeast.
2. Add 2¼ cups of water.
3. Stir with your hand until a sticky dough forms.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise overnight or up to 24 hours.
5. If using the multigrain topping, mix ingredients and place in a jar or bowl until ready.
6. Place dough on a heavily floured work surface and form it into a circle.
7. Sprinkle the dough with flour and cover with plastic wrap.
8. Let rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
9. Place a 4-6 quart Dutch oven in a cold oven.
10. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
11. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cornmeal.
12. Remove the VERY HOT Dutch oven and place on a hot pad next to your dough.
13. Using a large spatula, turn dough onto a flat surface.
14. Slide the dough from the flat surface into the dutch oven, cornmeal side down.
15. Using a spoon, position the dough in the pot making sure the bottom is covered.
16. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cornmeal or the multi-grain topping.
17. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
18. Uncover and bake 15-20 minutes more.
19. Let cool completely before slicing.
20. P.S.
21. The prep time does not include the overnight rising.
22. Recipe adapted from the Bake From Scratch magazine.

3.5.3239