Homemade bread in the Dutch oven
Ingredients
• 1 kg all-purpose flour
• 2 sachets of dried yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. "Lof" Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 cups of water
Execution
• In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients until you have a homogenous dough.
• Cover the bowl with a lid and put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
• The dough will rise in the fridge, so you need to place it in quite a large bowl with lots of free space.
• After the dough has been for at least 12 hours in the fridge, take it out and you will see that it is still a bit moist.
• For this reason, spread some flour on a counter and knead the dough just enough to make it dry.
• You do not need to knead the dough more than 2-3 mins.
• Then, preheat the oven at 250°C and put an empty Dutch oven inside with the lid on, so that it gets very hot.
• You do not need to oil the Dutch oven.
• Shape the dough into a large boule (or two smaller boules or any other way you prefer) and put it in the Dutch oven.
• Cover the Dutch oven and cook the bread at 250°C for 35-40 mins.
• Do not open the oven during this time, so as not to lose heat.
• After approx. 40 mins, remove the lid from the Dutch oven. It must be starting to brown.
• Cook the bread without a lid for another 10-15 mins to achieve a crispy crust.
• The bread should be ready now. You will be able to tell from the classic color of the crust.
• In order to be sure, pierce it vertically with a knife and check if the blade of the knife is moist (it should not be).