#3431 - Dutch Oven Bread

(by Shirley McNevich)

3 cups bread flour OR all-purpose flour
1 tsp. active dry yeast (make sure the yeast is not too old)
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBSP white sugar
2 TBSP cornmeal

In a bowl add flour, yeast, white sugar and salt--stir to mix. Add the warm water--stir until mixed. Cover the bowl with Saran wrap, set the bowl on your counter and set a kitchen timer for 19 HOURS. After 19 hours, lightly sprinkle some flour on your counter. Place the dough (which will be "gooey") on the floured counter and turn/fold it a few times, adding more flour if necessary. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, sprinkle some more flour on the dough and use your hands to roll the dough into a ball. Sprinkle 1 TBSP of cornmeal on a towel to roughly the size of the dough ball. Place the dough ball on the cornmeal. Sprinkle the other 1 TBSP of cornmeal over the top of the dough. Place another towel over the top of the dough. Let the dough rise until doubled in size (about 3 hours). Place your Dutch oven (including the lid) in your oven and set the oven at 475 degrees. Once the oven is heated to 475 degrees, remove the hot Dutch oven, place the dough ball in the center of the Dutch oven, put the lid on the Dutch oven and put the whole thing in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking another 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place the Dutch oven on a wire rack for 1 hour before removing bread and slicing it.