Easy Rustic Dutch Oven Bread

This is going to be an odd way to start this post off, but here goes. I am not a huge fan of bread. Yep, I said it. I am just not a huge fan. I don't like sandwiches, I usually make it about 2 bites into a hamburger before I remove my bun. etc. The only bread I do get a craving for is a nice rustic loaf (Ok that and those little Brazilian cheese breads - those are good!). You can get a variety of crusty rustic loaves at the grocery store with garlic, rosemary, cheese, olives, cranberries, orange zest...really just about anything you can think of baked into them. 

A few years back, I decided to try my hand at making a nice crusty loaf and have been perfecting the recipe ever since. This bread is so easy to make, it is very forgiving, and you can put whatever your little heart desires into the loaf. I put roasted garlic into the dough and it was delicious! You can easily add cheese, rosemary, olives (I guess all the things I listed above) though. Just get creative with it. All this requires is that you have a good cast iron dutch oven. I have several brands from Le Creuset to Lodge and all of them work just fine. What I am saying is - don't run out and buy a $500 dutch oven just to make this bread :) 

The bread is nice and golden and crusty on the outside, while fluffy and chewy (in a good way) on the inside. Just look at this little beauty!

Easy Rustic Dutch Oven Bread

Makes 1 Loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 cups + 2-3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt (sea salt or kosher salt works fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
• 1 3/4 cups water room temperature
• 8-9 whole cloves of garlic roasted

How to make Easy Rustic Dutch Oven Bread

Day 1

1. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Next, add your water and stir to combine. This will form a very loose looking dough. See picture below. Now, add in your roasted garlic or don't it is really up to you. I just kind of loosely poke them into the top of the dough. If you don't know how to roast garlic, I will give you a little cheater recipe at the end. 
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let "proof" for 14-18 hours. If you go a little bit less or a little bit longer, it is ok - again, super forgiving dough. 

See, it is just kind of a weird wet ball.
I was making multiple loaves because
I was making gifts. You will probably
make just one.

Day 2

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. While our oven is preheating, place your dutch oven with lid on into the oven to get nice and toasty. It should stay in there for about 30 minutes. Make sure you have your rack adjusted to the middle rack (I have found that works best for some reason).  
2. While your oven is heating, remove the plastic wrap from the dough and sprinkle with a little bit of flour. Now, gently form it into a ball. The dough is really quite fragile, so you may get something a little bit flatter than a ball. Place your dough on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle a bit more flour on top then cover with saran wrap and let is rest until your dutch oven and oven are hot. 
3. Once hot, pull your dutch oven out of the oven, remove the lid, and drop our parchment paper and dough into the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven, throw it into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. DO NOT OPEN THE LID. Just leave it alone!
4. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. 
5. Remove your beautifully baked rustic loaf from the oven and place on a rack to cool. Cooling takes several hours, so don't be tempted to cut into it. 

John and I like to slice the bread, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, then top with cheese and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. You can also just slice and enjoy with some olive oil with a little cracked pepper and/or balsamic like the pic below. 

One more pic of the final product for good measure!

If you are going to add other ingredients, I suggest adding them at the time you make the dough initially. I think it imparts a bit more flavor. Just loosely mix whatever you would like into the dough and follow the rest of the directions.

Ok now for your cheater roasted garlic. 

1. Buy a package of the pre-peeled garlic. You know, the ones that have multiple little vacuum sealed packs in them? 
2. Open up one of the little vacuum sealed packs and place it on some tinfoil with a drizzle of olive oil then seal it up. 
3. Place in a 300 degree oven for 30-35 minutes and tada - perfectly roasted garlic!

Enjoy!

-H