“A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.” ~ Omar Khayyam
Whole Wheat Dutch Oven Bread
This winter, my kitchen has been filled with many loaves of home baked bread. One of the wonderful things about making bread is that you are able to control the types of flour that are in each loaf. There are so many amazing flours available today that were not widely available a few years ago. Don’t let names like spelt, quinoa or buckwheat scare you; because these flours have great flavor.
I think one of the reasons bread making has lost favor is because many think it is too time consuming, and that it requires kitchen skills they may not have. Recently, I learned about Dutch oven bread and I was anxious to try it.
The amazing thing about this bread is the crispy crust. It resembles brick oven baked. When I thought about all those bee hive ovens in the early colonial fireplaces, I felt like a pioneer woman.
This bread is very easy, it just requires a long unsupervised rise time. Good things come to those who wait.
Proof the yeast as described in an earlier post.
In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, the harvest grains blend, the proofed yeast, salt and 1 ¾ cups of water. NOTE: All the flour from the bottom of the bowl should be completely incorporated into the mixture. If it isn’t, add a few teaspoons of water.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 12-18 hours. NOTE: I let the dough rise for 15 hours.
After the first rise, lightly flour the counter top and turn out the dough from the bowl onto the counter. Fold the dough in half from left to right, turn the dough 90 degrees and fold it again.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it on a well- floured tea towel. Fold the towel over the dough to cover, and let it rise for 90 minutes.
While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 475 degrees F. Put the Dutch oven on the middle rack in the oven, and let the pot warm for 30 minutes. NOTE: Remove the handle from the top of the Dutch oven if it is not ceramic or cast iron, as the high oven temperature will melt it.
Set out two cooling racks, one for the lid and one for the pot. Remove the pot from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Remove the lid and place it on the other rack. Slide the dough off the tea towel into the pot. Cover the pot, and place it in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cool on a rack. Bake the bread for another 12 – 15 minutes.
Take the pot out of the oven and use a spatula to remove the bread from the pot. Let the bread cool for 15 – 20 minutes before cutting it.
This recipe was slightly modified from My Favorite No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread. It is worth checking the site for a video link to the originator of Dutch oven bread.
I have made a lot of yeast breads and rolls in my life, and I was completely surprised that you could make bread of this quality in a home oven. It is amazing and has such possibilities.
Dutch Oven Whole Wheat Bread
By Published: February 12, 2014
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 45 mins
- Ready In: 55 mins
"A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou." ~ Omar Khayyam Whole Wheat Dutch Oven Bread This winter, my kitchen has been filled with …
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole wheat flour I used King Arthur
- 2 cups water, divided 1/4 cup used for proofing the yeast
- 1/4 cup harvest grains blend From King Arthur Flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
Instructions
- Proof the yeast as described in an earlier post.
- In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, the harvest grains blend, the proofed yeast, salt and 1 ¾ cups of water. NOTE: All the flour from the bottom of the bowl should be completely incorporated into the mixture. If it isn't, add a few teaspoons of water.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 12-18 hours. NOTE: I let the dough rise for 15 hours.
- After the first rise, lightly flour the counter top and turn out the dough from the bowl onto the counter. Fold the dough in half from left to right, turn the dough 90 degrees and fold it again.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it on a well- floured tea towel. Fold the towel over the dough to cover, and let it rise for 90 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 475 degrees F. Put the Dutch oven on the middle rack in the oven, and let the pot warm for 30 minutes. NOTE: Remove the handle from the top of the Dutch oven if it is not ceramic or cast iron, as the high oven temperature will melt it.
- Set out two cooling racks, one for the lid and one for the pot. Remove the pot from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Remove the lid and place it on the other rack. Slide the dough off the tea towel into the pot. Cover the pot, and place it in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cool on a rack. Bake the bread for another 12 – 15 minutes.
- Take the pot out of the oven and use a spatula to remove the bread from the pot. Let the bread cool for 15 – 20 minutes before cutting it.
Your bread looks great. Thanks for linking.
You are most welcome. As I said in the post, this bread is amazing.