Enamel Covered Cast Iron Dutch Oven Bread

Last night I managed to use my dutch oven for something I never would have thought about.   When it comes to kitchen gadgets though, the more uses, the better, if I can use something for more than what someone would consider it's typical use, it's more likely it will gain a place of honor closer to the counter top so that I can use it more.

In this case I have a Grand Gourmet Enamel Covered Cast Iron Dutch Oven.  Now I'm sure there are those of you out there that might think that Le Creuset is the greatest, or some that might even scream for Lodge Logic, but I was buying this with really only an occasional use in mind so I went with the cheap brand I found on sale at my local Meijer.  I really only had 1 recipe that I thought I'd use it for, and thats making pork carnitas, and I've done that it did turn out good, but this is about using it for something new (well new to me even).

I like many of you out there probably browse Pinterest, although I'm not one that actually "pins" anything, heck I don't even have an account.  But I do browse it for recipes and DIY stuff (I play in the kitchen, and with woodworking, oh how I'd love more hours in the day).  Every once in a while I come across things that intrigue me, this time it was a simple recipe for "Crusty Bread".

Now while I am a self admitted carnivore, I do love some good bread to go with my meat.  I mean bread was created for the need to be able to eat meat on the go, thus creating the sandwich right?  Anyway,  the best bread is that which is freshly baked no question about it, the next best thing is the artisan loaves you get from local bakeries or places like Panera.   If you like me, any bread you've made in the past has been good, but it hasn't had that crisp textured crust like what you find at those places.  Well the aforementioned recipe allows you to create just that, and couldn't be any simpler.

3 Cups of Flour (I used bread flour just because, but the original poster just used all purpose)
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups of water.

Whisk up your dry ingredients in a large bowl, stir in the water, it looked a bit dry when I was done mixing, but thats not a problem at all.  Now you cover it and let it rise, her recipe called for 12-18 hours, mine was over 20 hours because like others, work always interferes with my fun in the kitchen.  You could probably even get away with a bit less, because I didn't notice a much rising from checking on it in the morning to the 10 hours later when I was able to finally get to cooking it.

Once you have made it through the painstakingly long aspect of letting it rise, now it's time to prep.  Heat your oven to 450 degrees, once heated put your dutch oven in there to heat up as well.  Originally she had said to preheat your dutch oven for 30 minutes, my impatience lead me to think it was probably preheated enough in 15 minutes.

While your oven is preheating, take your dough out onto a well floured surface and shape it into a ball, it's going to be a bit sticky so be sure to get some flour on your hands to work with it.

You will undoubtedly be done with your shaping before everything gets preheated so you might want to cover your dough for the remainder of time.

Once your dutch oven is preheated take it out, remember it's going to be HOT, after all you've just had it preheating in a 450 degree oven!  Now comes the easiest part, drop your ball of dough in the dutch oven and put the cover on and place it back in the oven.  Cook it covered for 30 minutes, then take the cover off and cook it for another 15 minutes.

Then you can take it out and let it cool on a rack.  Enjoy at your convenience!

I'm sure some of you might be thinking I skipped a step of putting butter or oil in the dutch oven, nope, didn't skip a step at all, because I didn't do it.  I contend the biggest problem with food sticking to most cookware is because very few of us preheat it, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it could stick if you're dealing with a worn out piece of cookware, but you severely lesson sticking in most your cooking by preheating, I usually can cut my oil or butter I use my cooking in half if I only wait to cook on it, of course I'm not the most patient person so yes usually I just be sure to spray, spritz, or throw pats of butter in there while cooking.   This bread required none of that, even in my cheap little dutch oven didn't stick a bit, I turned it over and out it popped.

The other thing the original poster talked about doing is mixing it up, of which I'm sure I will do, adding your favorite cheeses, dried fruits, seasoning, or whatever floats your boat to make something new.   I've already been thinking about a cinnamon and sugar loaf that should make excellent toast, or how about  some freshly grated parmesan with some italian seasoning, combine it with a small dish of olive oil and freshly cracked pepper to dip it in....and you have yourself an appetizer that won't last long.  Ok now I want to make another batch to try that, might be a weekend project.

And the next best thing, is this makes beautiful little loaves, that have all the look and charm of bakery store bread.  Wrap it up and you have excellent little gifts for friends and family, especially if you have added something a little different that has just made it out of this world!

I want to thank the Simply So Good blog for posting the recipe, it's nice to get bakery results from such a simple recipe, and I loved being able to have another use for one of my gadgets, I'm sure my dutch oven is going to get a lot more use making breads too now.