Crusty Bread

This is an "overnight" or at least 12-hour recipe where the dough sits, so be prepared for that when deciding when to start making this bread. It is very simple and easy to make, it just requires some thinking ahead.

Crusty Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Instant or Rapid-rise yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  
2. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. 
• Here is where you can add shredded cheese, seasonings, and other mix-ins, if desired.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.  Overnight works great.
• Leave out on the counter, not in the fridge.
4. 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.
• My oven is convection, so I only preheat to 400 degrees.
5. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.
• If using parchment paper, do not pour the dough directly onto the parchment or it will stick. You must first shape the loaf on a floured surface and then place on the parchment. It is also helpful to lightly spray or flour the parchment as the dough can stick again during the rising portion in the next step.
6. Cover with plastic wrap or light-weight towel and let sit while the pot is heating. 
• Here is where you can place the dough ball on a piece of parchment paper if you want so you can just pick up the paper and drop the dough, paper and all, into your pot after it has preheated. Again, it can help to have sprayed or floured the paper because, as you pick up the paper to move the dough ball into your pot, the paper can/will touch the sides of the dough and could start to stick again. Typically if this happens, the paper will release during the cooking process, but it initially can be stuck to the sides of the loaf, potentially impeding the rise and growth of the loaf in the oven..
7. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  
8. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  
9. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  
• Using convection, I have found that the loaf only needs another 8 minute uncovered before it is done in my oven.
10. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.  

Marsha's Notes:

In my oven, it works best for me to cook things at 400 degrees (on convection) for 30 minutes covered, and then only 8 minutes uncovered. I also found it helpful to spray my pot with non-stick spray to get the bread out easier if I am not using parchment. 

I LOVE adding a generous handful of shredded cheese to my dough. 

I have also found that if the bread is difficult to cut, sometimes it slices easier after sitting for day, or if I use an electric carving knife. Sometimes using a regular bread knife takes so much pressure it can smash the bread when it's freshly out of the oven.

Here is a picture of the Dutch Oven (6 qt.) I use. You can also find these on Amazon, but I got mine on sale at Shopko.