bonnie’s rustic artisan dutch oven bread

How To Make bonnie’s rustic artisan dutch oven bread

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  (1) Gather your ingredients and read through the recipe before you begin. Make sure your ingredients are room temperature. (2) This is a Rustic Artisan Bread, and I bake it at least two or three times a week. It is wonderful hot from the oven with soups and stews, sandwiches and toast. My husband's guilty pleasure is toast with butter and blackberry jam. (3) The Danish whisk is a wonderful tool for mixing flour and dough. I use it all the time for pulling dough away from the sides of the bowl. It is very sticky dough and sticks to your fingers, but it doesn't stick to the Danish whisk. (4) When the bread is completely cool, place in a ziplock bag with two large paper towels to keep moisture from forming. The bread can be frozen.
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  MIXING THE DOUGH In a large mixing bowl, mix the Dry ingredients together with the Danish whisk, and add the water and mix well. This will be a loose dough. Cover the bowl tightly with saran wrap. I put mine in the pantry because there is no draft in there from the air conditioner. Let the mixture rise overnight for 15 hours. It will double in size, and it will have bubbles all over the top of it. The dough pulls slightly away from the sides of the bowl, then you know it is ready.
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  FORMING THE DOUGH Dip your hands in flour and sprinkle some flour around the edges of the bowl. Gently pull the bread away from the sides of the bowl with the Danish whisk. Gradually loosen the dough from the bottom of the bowl. Use as little flour as necessary. Shape into a loose ball without kneading. Turn it out on a cutting board. Cover the dough with a tea towel, and let it rest for an hour.
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  PREHEATING THE OVEN Meanwhile, place parchment paper in the Dutch oven. Preheat the oven AND the pot (without the lid) to 450 degrees about ten minutes before the dough is ready to bake.
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  Cook's Tip: If you like the earthy taste of cornmeal on the bottom of your Artisan bread, sprinkle some on the parchment paper just before you put the bread in the oven.
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  BAKING THE BREAD After the dough has rested for an hour, remove the tea towel and cut two to three slits in the top of the dough with a sharp knife. Remove the pot from the oven. Gently lift the dough and place it in the hot pot (Careful!) Place the lid and using mitts, return the pot to the hot oven. Bake for 40 minutes covered and remove the lid, and if your bread is not brown enough, bake an additional 10 minutes until golden brown. Be sure to bake it long enough so it is done in the middle.
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  Cook's Tip: Every oven is different. So watch your bread the last few minutes of baking time. My bread is brown at 40 minutes but not quite done internally., so I put a foil shield between it and the lid and let it continue to bake with the lid on to prevent over browning.
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  AFTER BAKING Remove the pot from the oven, and place the bread on a rack. Brush the top of the bread with the melted butter to keep it soft, and cover with a tea towel. Allow bread to cool before slicing....Of course, I do realize that just isn't going to happen. Enjoy!
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