Credit: Le Creuset
Is there anything better or more satisfying than the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the house? (No. The answer is no.) Bread is the ultimate holiday comfort food – let’s face it, it’s the ultimate any-day comfort food – but making it from scratch can be a little intimidating. Enter Le Creuset’s Dutch oven version. You’ll need to make the dough a day ahead, but there’s no need to knead. Like, at all.
Just mix together your ingredients, let them rise, then plop that ball of carb-y goodness into your oiled Le Creuset Dutch oven and the heat will do the rest. Oh, and if you choose to stand in your kitchen and eat the entire golden, crusty loaf at the risk of burning your fingers – we won’t ever tell.
NO-KNEAD DUTCH OVEN BREAD
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups room-temperature water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Olive or vegetable oil
Instructions
-
Whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Combine the water and vinegar in a measuring cup. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the water mixture into the well. Use a spatula or your hands to stir the flour and liquid until no dry flour remains and a dry shaggy dough is formed. Cover bowl tightly with a pot lid or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours.
-
Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured work surface. Use floured hands to gently lift the edges of the dough into the center. Turn the dough over and shape it into a tight ball – the tighter the better – by rolling it on the work surface between your palms.
-
Rub the bottom and sides of a Dutch oven with a little bit of oil. Put the dough in the center of the pot and place the lid on. Allow the dough to rise again, about 1 – 2 hours (less if it’s very hot and humid, more if it’s cold) until the dough is about double in size and mostly fills the pot.
-
During the last 30 minutes of rising, preheat oven to 450°F. When ready to bake, score the bread with a sharp knife or razor, making an X or a hash mark. This will allow the dough to expand freely. Cover the pot and place it in the oven.
-
After 30 minutes, remove the lid, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for another 15 – 20 minutes until the bread is nicely browned and cooked through. It should have an internal temperature of approximately 200°F when done. Allow the bread to rest on a rack for at least 30 minutes so that the interior finishes cooking.
Recipe Notes
This is Le Creuset’s take on the classic no-knead bread baked in a Dutch oven. The long fermentation time helps create the structure of the bread, and the addition of apple cider vinegar adds a yeasty tang similar to a sourdough. Note that this recipe is sized for a 4.5-quart round or 5-quart oval Le Creuset Dutch oven and makes a loaf that is suitably sized for three to four people.
By Emma Lifvergren, Staff Writer
