No-knead Dutch Oven Bread

Oh my God! I never thought I would get so much addicted to baking breads and reading about them, though this is what has been my favourite hobby for more than a year now. After I got my new Prestige clay pot or Dutch oven (DO), I have started reading about baking breads in that. After successfully making some stuffed buns in my DO, now it’s turn of breads. Never knew that these no-knead breads could be this soft. And it’s so very easy to make, with just a pinch of yeast. Only thing you need to have in hand is lot of time, yes you heard it right, you need atleast 12-15 hours right from mixing the flour to getting a bread ready to be devoured. 

The idea is to make a very very wet and shaggy dough just my adding water, flour, salt and very little yeast. Mind you, there is not even a pinch of sugar or a drop of oil or milk. This makes it ideal for diabetic patients and for those who follow a vegan diet. To make it more healthy, I have substituted half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. 

All you need is some flour, salt, yeast, water, parchment paper, a DO and a good working oven. The best part is, you can mix the ingredients at night before you sleep and then allow it to proof very very slowly at room temperature. The ideal room temperature would be around 21-22 degree celsius. Since Chennai homes are more than that, hubby suggested to keep the bowl in our bedroom and we switched on the ac for some time and when I got up in the morning, I was pretty pleased to see my bowl full 🙂 Now the next step was quite simple, just flour your surface and transfer the shaggy mass onto it. Just fold the dough over itself for few times and then shape it into a round ball. Place it on a floured parchment paper and allow it to rise. Meanwhile preheat your oven with the DO inside it  till the oven temperature is around 220-230 degree Celsius or 450 degree Fahrenheit. It took around 35 minutes and today I got a chance to use my oven thermometer. Oh my…. I have almost written the entire procedure here… So what to write in the method now? Well… So here is the recipe …

Please go through the Notes.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour 200 gm
• Whole wheat flour 200 gm
• Salt to taste
• Hot Water 400 ml
• Instant yeast 1/4 tsp

Method:

• Take a big mixing bowl and all the flour, salt and yeast and mix well.
• Now add the hot water (not boiling hot, but warmer than lukewarm) to the flour mixture and mix it well using a wooden spoon till there is no dry particle left.

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and keep it on the counter (approximately 21-22 degree Celsius) for atleast 8 hours or overnight. 

• After the specified time, take the dough onto a well floured surface and fold the dough over itself for 8-10 times. Do not knead the dough. Sprinkle flour if it sticks a lot. Mind you, the dough will be very very sticky. You can use a bench scrapper to fold the dough.

• Now take a parchment paper and dust it liberally with flour.

• Slowly place the shaped dough onto the parchment paper. 
• Now place the parchment paper along with the dough into a mixing bowl or a round bread basket and allow it to rise. 

• Cover the bowl with a moist towel.

• Meanwhile preheat the oven at 220-230 degree Celsius or 450 degree Fahrenheit.
• Keep the DO into the oven and heat for around 30 minutes. Having an oven thermometer helps to know when your oven reaches the desired temperature. It took 35 minutes for my oven.

• Take the hot (very hot) DO from the oven very very carefully and slowly lift the parchment and place it in the DO.
• Close the lid and keep the DO into the oven and bake for around 30 minutes or so.
• Now remove the lid and bake for 5 more minutes till the top looks brown.
• Remove the DO from the oven and place it on a wooden board. 
• Remove the bread using a laddle or spatula and place on a wire rack.

• Keep a moist towel on top of it and cool it well.
• Slice it with a serated knife and enjoy it with a dash of butter 🙂

Notes:

• You can bake this with 100% apf. One can add any nuts, berries or any herbs in the dough during the shaping and make the bread more flavourful.
• Do not knead the dough. Just mix with a wooden spoon and keep it for fermentation.
• You can refrigerate the dough maybe after keeping it outside for first 2-3 hours and thereby allowing the flavours to develop slowly.
• When you place the parchment paper with the shaped dough into the DO, cut the extra flowing parchment paper. The flowing edges burn inthe high temperature.
• Handle the hot DO very carefully.
• After you take the DO out of the oven, place it on a wooden board or a thick towel. Do not keep it on a cold surface. It might cause a crack in the DO with the sudden temperature variation.
• Wash the DO only when it is fully cooled. Dry and store it in a clean place.
• When I bought my DO, I didn’t know that straight walled ones are better fit bread baking than the ones with slanting walls. Breads will tend to go flat and look more like a Focaccia or Ciabatta rather than a tall one.
• To overcome this, it is better to keep the parchment paper with the dough (while it’s rising and DO is getting preheated inthe oven) in a bowl with straight wall or in a less flatter bowl. This will ensure that the bread won’t spread much while you transfer it into the DO.
• Hope you will find these notes and tips useful.
• Feel free to comment on the post and ask for any clarifications. Happy baking. Bake breads at home and keep your family safe from the chemical and preservatives ladden store bought ones. Believe me, nothing can be more satisfying than a perfect or even not so perfect healthy home baked bread.