Dutch Oven Bread and a Giveaway

I tend to focus most of my baking on sweets: cakes, cookies, cupcakes, ice creams, etc.  Since I don't really eat what I make, I like to give it away, those extra lbs. have fortuitously been kept at bay.   But lately I've been yearning to bake something different.  Something that I don't normally make and would actually want to keep for myself.  Something like....bread!

There's nothing better than a slice of warm, crusty bread with a smear of creamy butter.   So simple, so straightforward, so delicious.  

I'd heard about a bread that requires almost no-kneading and is baked in a Dutch oven.    Mark Bittman was the first to write about it in the New York Times and then Cook's Illustrated came along and made their little tweaks, as they do so well, and improved upon the recipe.

This bread is so easy to make you wouldn't believe it.  It literally takes less than 5 minutes of prep and the rest of the time is spent letting the dough rise and then baking it in the oven.   Be forewarned: the smell of fresh baked bread permeates throughout your house like a drug.   This bread is crusty, chewy and has great texture; all it needs is your favorite topping. 

 

Now to the giveaway...

The people at CSN Stores contacted me recently to see if I wanted to participate in a giveaway.  I checked out their websites to make sure everything was legit and I wholeheartedly give them my seal of approval.  It's a great source for  just about anything, especially cookware and bakeware.    

So what's up for grabs?  A  $40 CSN gift certificate.  Why not use it to get your own Dutch oven and bake some of this bread?  Me, I'm partial to Le Creuset.

To enter, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post by 12pm PST Friday August 20th.  The winner will be chosen randomly.

What's your favorite bread and how do you like to eat it? 

FYI:  One comment per person and you must include your email address to be eligible.  CSN only ships to addresses in the US and Canada.   There may be international shipping charges for Canadian addresses.

Good Luck!


No-Knead Bread (from Cook's Illustrated)

3 cups (15 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1/4 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup + 2 Tbls water (7 oz) at room temperature
1/4 cup + 2 Tbls mild lager (3 oz) at room temperature
1 Tbls white vinegar

Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.