Week 3 of The Great British Bake Off and it was bread week. There were Dampfnudel with burnt bottoms, tears over undercooked brioche, smutty shaped bread plaits and a bread arc where the animals went in one by one…
I decided to have a go at a bake this week which I have wanted to try for a while. I made artisan bread using a dutch oven. A dutch oven is basically a covered earthenware or cast-iron container with a lid. I used my Le Creuset casserole dish and it worked perfectly.
I used a basic white bread recipe:
- 510g of strong white flour
- 4tsps dried active yeast
- 4tsps sugar
- 450ml warm water
- 3 tsps salt
Mix together the yeast and sugar and water in a bowl and leave for 5 minutes until the yeast reactivates. Once this happens it will be frothy.
Mix together the flour and the salt. Then gradually add to the yeast mixture. Once all the flour is mixed, turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic.
To prove, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp t-towel and leave for about 20minutes.
Whilst you are proving the dough, preheat the oven to 200 degrees with the dutch oven already inside.
To test if the dough is proved, you can perform the finger test. Lightly press the dough with two fingers, if it springs back up it hasn’t been proved for long enough, if it collapses or sags, it has been left to prove for too long. You want to see indentations where you pressed.
Carefully lift the dough out of the bowl, do not de-gas it, coat the top and bottom in flour and place gently into the pre heated dutch oven.
Cook for 30mins with the lid on and then remove the lid and bake for a further 8mins to get a lovely crunchy top. Don’t open the lid whilst cooking for the first 30mins as it will let the heat out (and spoil the surprise!)
It makes a delicious light loaf, with a soft, fluffy bread and a crisp, chewy crust.
Next time…. GBBO’s very first ever batter week! I presume we can expect, pancakes, Yorkshire puddings and something fancy no one has ever heard of!
That looks really good! I can taste it from across the Pond.
denise
Thank you Denise! xxxxxxx
Looks great, want to give this a go myself.
Thank you Samantha, send me a pic if you do. x
Very sticky to handle but it’s now in the oven!
Oooh exciting, yes it is quite a sticky dough. X
Looks delicious. I want to give this a go.
Thank you Mary, please do send me a pic if you do. x
Beautiful!
Thank you Holly x
just beautiful ! the crust looks amazing and to think you baked it in a casserole dish! gorgeous
thank you for linking up #GBBOBloggers2016 x
oooh, going to have to try this one. Since moving house last year I have had very little success with bread in my “new/old” oven. Have never used a dutch oven before, I am hoping it will balance out some of the unevenness of the heat in my oven 🙂 Wishing and hopping it will look as fab as yours 🙂 made me hungry xx
Ooh please send me a photo if you have a go! I put olives in one recently and that was delicious as well. x
will do 🙂 x
Looks just perfect! never baked bread in a dutch oven before … looks like I’m going to have to try it!
It was so fun and easy, I made one with Olives as well this week. Yummy! xxxx