tariq.ca

From Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour /570 g
• 2 cups room temperature water
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a large pot mix the flour, yeast and salt.
2. Add the water and mix the dough.
3. Cover for 18 hours.
4. Fold the dough a couple of times in the bowl.
5. Wait 15 minutes.
6. In the bowl shape the dough into a ball and dust with flour.
7. Cover and wait for 90 minutes.
8. Place your dutch oven, including the lid, in the oven and heat to 450° F. Keep the dutch oven there for 30 minutes after the oven has reached temperature.
9. Cut a piece of parchment paper to a bit larger than the bottom of the dutch oven.
10. Carefully take the dutch oven out of the oven.
11. Place the parchment paper in the dutch oven.
12. Turn the dough out into the dutch oven. Shake the dutch oven a bit side-to-side. Score the top of the dough.
13. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
14. Remove the lid and bake for another 20-30 minutes.
15. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

The actual recipe calls for turning the dough out onto a work surface and I always find that to be more trouble than it is worth: It’s messy and I end up losing a decent amount of dough. So instead I just do everything in the same large bowl. Either way you still end up with a nice round loaf (boule) of bread.

If you’re using a Le Creuset dutch oven the knob the lid comes with may not survive in the oven. You can either buy a metal one or just remove the knob and use its screw to plug the resulting hole on top.