Who doesn’t like the smell of fresh baked bread? I don’t know about you, but some of my favorite childhood memories are associated with baking bread. Since my mom is Norwegian, we love the crusty bread that is so plentiful in Europe, and many years ago, a friend suggested baking the bread in a Dutch oven. This revolutionized our bread baking. Now we can have wonderful crusty artisan bread right at home. Recently I also discovered the One Degree sprouted flour, which is a real treasure. It has such a good flavor, is ground from 100% whole grain, and is spouted to make it easier for the body to absorb and digest. Check out their website: https://onedegreeorganics.com
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat or spelt flour (see note)
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
Instructions:
In a medium size bowl mix together all the dry ingredients (flours, yeast, and salt). Add the water and mix just until combined. The mixture should look pretty loose. Cover with a towel and let sit overnight (12 hours).
On a generously floured baking silicon mat, pour out the bread dough and slightly flour the top of the bread. Pull each side towards the middle to make a ball, then turn over, and let it rest for 1-2 hours.
30 minutes before ready to bake the bread, preheat the oven to 480 F with the Dutch oven and lid (make sure the lid is not plastic and can withstand 500 F).
Then carefully take the Dutch oven out of the oven, remove the lid, place the bread dough in the Dutch oven, seam side up (this makes that cracked beautiful crust). Replace the lid and place back into the oven.
Set timer for 30 min. Then remove the lid, leave the bread in the oven for 10-15 more minutes, this will add a nice color to the crust while the bread finishes baking. Remove from oven. Carefully, remove the bread from the dutch oven and cool on a cooling rack.
Note: Spelt flour has a mild delicious flavor, but does not have as much gluten, and therefore makes the loaf a little flatter. If you want the round tall loaf, use whole wheat flour instead.
I really like the One Degree sprouted flour. It is organic, non-GMO, and sprouted. Click Here to visit their website
If you have never tried artisan bread like this before, you may want to start with a ratio of 2:1 (2 cups all purpose flour & 1 cup whole grain flour.) This will ensure a lighter bread. You can also make this 100% whole grain, when I do, I usually add an additional 1/4 tsp of yeast.
Stefanie Dodson
Hi! Do you do anything with the Dutch oven???? Before you put your dough in it…. Like spray some oil in there, water? I know in the video, you took the lid off and a bunch of steam came out…. just wondering…. thanks! (btw this Looks soooooo good!)
Ani
Hi Stefanie! Yes, we season the dutch oven by brushing it with a little olive oil every so often.
Stefanie Dodson
I made this today…. super good! We bought a cast iron Dutch oven, like the one you had in the video. Lol! I would definitely recommend this recipe, it’s delicious! (I made potato soup to go with it.) thanks Ani!
Ani
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the bread, Stefanie! Potato soup sounds amazing! Thank you for your sweet comment. ?
Eileen
Can I use home ground flour and do not have a Dutch oven. Will anything else work?
Ani
You can definitely use home ground flour, although you may need to adjust the liquid slightly. In order to get the same effect without a dutch oven, you can bake the bread in a bread pan, and put an additional pan with hot water in the oven as you bake it, creating the same effect as the dutch oven.
Place the pan (for the water) in the oven as the oven heats up, but do not put the water in until after you have put in the bread dough in the oven. Be careful not to let out too much heat as you do this, you want the oven to stay very hot. Add 1 1/2 cups of very hot water to the water pan (not the bread pan) as soon as the bread is in the oven. This will create the steam that makes the wonderful crust. Be careful not to burn yourself as the steam will immediately start, close the oven door as soon as possible.
Hope this works for you, we have done this method in the past. The steam is crucial. You are creating a moist hot environment. Thank you for your support! ?
Quintessential Queen
I am excited to prepare and bake this bread. Off to the store for my first dutch oven. No eggs! Wonderful!
Chef Ani
Fantastic! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
E Jurek
I just made this. It was so easy, and it turned out beautifully! Thank you!
Chef Ani
I got to see the picture. You did a beautiful job. This is a favorite bread in my family. Thank you for trying my recipes.