Simple Crusty Bread by Dachshundlady

[BakerAunt]

Simple Crusty Bread
Submitted by dachshundlady on March 27, 2010 at 6:51 am

Adapted from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Hertzberg & Francois
My sister cut this out of a newspaper for me but I do not know which paper. I DO know it is my favorite overall bread recipe. Sooo easy, yet so very good.

1 Tablespoon instant yeast (recipe was 1 1/2 Table regular yeast*)
6 1/2 cups AP flour, using "Scoop & Sweep" method to measure
1 1/2 Table KOSHER salt
3 cups water

* They recommend using the same amount of yeast, regardless of whether you have instant or regular, unless you do a long refrigerator rest and a long room temperature rise.

Whisk dry ingredients. Add water and mix with rubber scraper until there are no dry patches. It is a loose dough. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let rise for 2 hours (up to 5 if baking today) at room temp. You can bake all or part of it now or refrigerate for up to TWO WEEKS.

When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit size piece with serrated knife. (I use about half the recipe for a loaf; they use a quarter). Turn dough in floured or wet hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom.

Now you can either put dough on parchment paper on pizza peel and rest for 40 minutes before baking on a preheated stone OR on parchment paper in a round pan about the size of your dutch oven on counter for 40 minutes before baking in a preheated covered dutch oven (what I do, using the paper like a sling to get it into the smoking hot dutchie). If you are using an oblong terra cotta baker, put the dough on parchment paper between rolled up tea towels to help shape the loaf. In either case, the parchment paper goes right in the dutch oven or baker and stays there as the dough bakes.

Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it. IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH REFRIGERATED DOUGH, IT MUST REST AN ADDITIONAL HOUR!

About 20 minutes before dough is ready, preheat STONE on middle rack to 450 and put broiler pan on bottom of oven. If using COVERED DUTCH OVEN I put it on lower middle shelf and preheat to 500. If your pot is dark inside, you might try it at 450 or 475 instead and leave it at that temp throughout. But don't forget to remove the lid after 15 minutes!

Dust dough with flour and slash with razor, very sharp knife or good kitchen shears several times.

FOR THE PIZZA STONE VERSION, slide dough and paper onto stone and pour 1 cup very hot water into broiler pan (don't drip on oven window!) and shut oven quickly. Bake about 30 minutes until well browned.

FOR THE DUTCH OVEN VERSION, lift out pot with mitts, close door, remove lid, place dough and its "parchment sling" in the dutch oven, replace lid and put back into oven. Don't worry if paper hangs out from under lid. Bake 15 minutes covered; remove lid and decrease temperature to 450. Bake an ADDITIONAL 15-20 minutes until well browned and bottom makes hollow "thunk" sound when tapped. Cool completely.

I have baked this both ways and like the results better in the dutch oven. You can also bake it in a covered corning ware casserole. Be sure to cool completely for best flavor and texture. I store on my counter with the cut end wrapped in foil.

I use half the recipe for 1 loaf though the original recipe says it makes 4. I have also used it for pizza dough after it was in fridge at least 18 hours. It was great, in particular, when baked on a piece of parchment so I needed no cornmeal on the stone. I baked it at 550 for about 10 minutes.

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