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1
Add the sugar to the warm water and stir, once dissolved, add the yeast and stir it in thoroughly, set it aside until it activates.
2
Add both flours to a large bowl, and mix in the salt.
3
Once activated, add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix together until you have a sticky shaggy dough.
4
Cover the bowl, and let it rise for a minimum of 1 hour, in a warm draft-free spot, the dough should at least double in size (this may take longer depending on the temperature of your location)
5
Turn out the dough onto a slightly wet bench, and with wet hands turn and fold the dough for about 30 to 45 seconds, you should notice the dough become smooth now.
6
Place it back in the bowl, cover, and allow it to proof for 45 minutes this time.
7
Prepare a vessel to transport the dough to a hot Dutch oven, and line it with parchment paper, see video for example.
8
Once the dough has well risen carefully and gently turn it out onto a floured surface, dust the top of the dough, and fold it together pulling the dough toward the centre, turn it over and gently form it into a ball.
9
Dust the top of the doughball, and gently lift it into the prepared vessel with the lined parchment paper, lightly dust again, and cover with a dry light weight cloth, and allow to proof for 1 hour
10
When there is only 30 minutes left on the proof, set your oven to 230°C / 445°F or Gas mark 8, and place your Dutch oven in the oven to heat up, and set your timer for 30 minutes, this is how long a cast iron Dutch oven takes to heat up to the correct temperature for this baking bread.
11
When the final 30 minutes are up on the proof, make a halfmoon slash in the dough with your Lame/blade, then lift out the Dutch oven onto the cooker top, remove the lid, carefully pick up the dough using the paper, and place it in the Dutchy, give it a quick swirl to centralise the dough, replace the lid, and get it back into the hot oven, set your timer for 30 minutes.
12
After the 30 minutes, remove the lid from the Dutchy, and bake at the same temperature for a further 5 minutes to crisp up the top.
13
Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the main oven, tip the bread out onto metal surface, carefully remove the paper, and place on a wire rack to cool before slicing and serving.
14
To make it even crispier, place the naked loaf back in the hot oven for a further 5 minutes.
15
Enjoy.
Method
Ingredients
250g / 8.8oz Strong white bread flour
250g / 8.8oz Plain or all-purpose flour
380g / 380mls Lukewarm water / 40°C / 104°F
4g / 1tsp Instant or active dried yeast
8g / 1tsp Salt
6g / 1tsp Sugar
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Extra strong dough proofing bowl cover (Blue)
Heavy duty, carbon steel, non-stick, baking tray
Skeleton style Oven Gloves. Rated for up to and not beyond 260°C / 500°F.
Lightweight dough proofing cloth
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