Homemade Bread

Homemade Bread

6 cups flour

3 Tbsp Yeast

1 Tbsp Salt

3 cups water

Is it really that simple?  Pretty much.  We've started making a fresh loaf of bread every Sunday.  Haven't bought bread for months now.  Homemade anything is so much better anyway!  The process really doesn't take as long as you would think, and you don't need a bread machine.  We cook ours in a dutch oven cast iron pot by Staub.  These pots are ridiculously priced, but I finally broke down and bought one, and every Sunday am reminded how much I love it!

From ingredients to dough to a masterpiece....

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl, use a whisk to make sure that all ingredients are uniformly mixed. Add the water and mix by hand or with spatula to form sticky dough.  It will not require a lot of kneading

Cover bowl with plastic and place in a warm place, cover with a towel  A warming drawer will cut the processing time in half.  While the bread is rising, place a kitchen towel on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with cornmeal wheat bran or rolled oats (your choice).  Be generous it will prevent the dough from sticking.

Once the dough has doubled in size dump the dough on a generously floured workspace, shape the dough into a ball.  Transfer the dough to the prepared kitchen towel; make sure to sprinkle the top of the dough with the cornmeal, wheat bran or rolled oats so it doesn't stick to the towel when folded.  Fold the corners of the towel loosely to cover all sides of the dough.

 Place the cast iron oven on the middle rack of the oven at 500 degrees.  Once the ball of dough has almost doubled in size again, dump it into the hot pot; the top of your dough will now be on the bottom of the pan.  Don't worry about the shape.   Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes.  (If you have a baking stone place it underneath the pot to prevent burnt crust)  After 30 minutes lower the temperature to 450 degrees and bake without the lid another 20 minutes.

 Remove from oven and place pot on a cooling rack; let cool 15-20 minutes.