Dutch Oven Bread

James' Dutch Oven Bread

(yields one large round loaf)

2001

NOTE: YOU WILL NEED A HEAVY CAST-IRON 10 INCH OR 12 INCH (DIAMETER) DUTCH OVEN AND ABOUT TWO DOZEN CHARCOAL BRIQUETS FOR THIS RECIPE.

YOU WILL ALSO NEED A FIREPROOF SURFACE TO BAKE ON. THE DUTCH OVEN SHOULD HAVE OUTWARD SLANTING WALLS. IT SHOULD HAVE A WIRE HANDLE. THE LID SHOULD BE FLUTED ON THE OUTER RIM TO HOLD CHARCOAL BRIQUETS OR OTHER HOT COALS. THE LID SHOULD ALSO HAVE CENTER RING TO ALLOW IT TO BE MOVED WHEN HOT.

Ingredients:

8 cups white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons dry baking yeast

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon fructose sugar

1 cup non-fat dry milk

3 tablespoons ground flaxseed

3 tablespoons salad oil

4 cups warm water

1 egg

Fill a quart jar with four cups of warm water (90°F to 105°F). Stir in the fructose in the warm water. Then stir in the yeast. Let sit for ten minutes or so while the yeast starts to rise. Place the jar in a shallow pan to catch any overflows.

In the meantime, thoroughly mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then after the yeast has had a chance to rise a bit, add it to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then add the salad oil and the egg. After everything has been combined, add more white flour or more warm water if necessary to make the dough the right consistency.

Grease the inside of the Dutch oven. Then put the dough mixture into the Dutch oven. Grease the bottom of the lid and then put the lid on the Dutch oven. Then put the whole oven outside in the warm sunshine and let the dough rise for at least 60 minutes. (If a warm spot outdoors is not available, find a warm place indoors). Prepare 22 charcoal briquets for baking the bread by getting them lit for about 15 minutes before starting baking.

Bring the Dutch oven back inside and place on the outer fireplace tiles. With tongs, arrange 9 charcoal briquets in a circular configuration. Place the oven on top of these lower coals. (The Dutch oven should have three or for short outer legs to keep it off of the hot coals). Place the remaining 13 charcoal briquets on the upper lid, with most arranged along the outer fluted rim and a few towards the center. Bake for at least 55 minutes (and up to 75 minutes is probably OK).

Use a metal hook or other tool to rotate the lid of the Dutch oven 90 degrees (1/4 turn) about every 15 minutes. Also rotate the whole oven using your hook and the handle attached to the base of the oven. Note: this combination of upper and lower charcoal briquets is reputed by Dutch oven cookery experts to replicate an oven temperature of about 325° F.

When you have decided to end the baking process, remove the oven from the bottom coals and remove the hot lid. Allow the bread and oven to cool awhile. Then, using a pair of heavy insulated gloves, remove the loaf of bread from the oven.

The Dutch oven will yield one large heavy round crusty loaf of baked bread. The trick is to avoid hot spots that will burn the bottom of the loaf. (Now we know why stoves were invented: to make baking and other cooking a more easily controlled process).

Some folks use warm soapy water to clean out their Dutch ovens after use; others only use plain water and a mild scouring pad.

End.

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This web page was recently created by James Sayre.

Contact author James K. Sayre at sayresayre@yahoo.com. Author's Email: sayresayre@yahoo.com

Web page last updated on 7 May 2003.