Crusty Dutch Oven Bread

Thanks to Karen Emerson for sharing this great recipe!

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Prep Time: 12-24 hrs
Cook Time: 40 min
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

3c unbleached all-purpose flour
1t yeast
1t salt
1-1/2c warm water

Whisk dry ingredients together. Add warm water.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours (up to 24). Overnight works great.

Preheat oven to 450. Place a cast iron Dutch oven with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the sticky dough on a heavily floured surface. Flour your hands and shape into a ball. Cover with a tea towel until the Dutch oven is hot.

Remove hot pot from the oven and drop the dough in. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. Then, remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove bread from oven and from pot and place on a cooling rack.

Notes: The additional recipe said to bake 10 - 15 minutes. I took mine out 3 minutes early because it was looking quite brown. I'll do mine for 10 minutes next time. Mine sat overnight on the counter in a pampered chef glass measuring bowl with the lid on for 16 hours. (* you could use an ordinary bowl covered with a towel)

This bread is awesome. After I'd mixed the dough, I read about these variations.

Pepper Jack Cheese
Jalapeno and Cheddar
Raisin, Walnut, and Cinnamon
Pecan, Cinnamon, sugar
Pumpkin, sunflower, and poppy seed
Rosemary, lemon, Gruyere
Lemon, Thyme, Asiago, Rosemary, Chives, and Thyme
Garlic and Basil