I have found it hard to find fresh made, crusty bread, baguettes,etc., that are safe for my daughter’s allergies (Free-from contamination from nuts or dairy)… so as per usual, I had to learn how to make it myself! This is a delicious recipe that we love and probably should just make 2 loaves from the get-go as it’s always gone in the blink of an eye!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups warm waterr
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar or honey
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 1/2 cups – 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
Directions
- Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl. Allow to sit for approximately five minutes. It will look frothy.
- Add the salt and flour to the bowl and combine with the dough hook of your electric stand mixer or with a wooden spoon. Mix until all flour is incorporated.
- Cover with a fresh, dry, tea towel and allow to sit covered, in a warm spot on your kitchen counter for one hour.
- After one hour, remove the dough ball from the bowl and transfer to a lightly floured counter or wooden board. Roll the dough ball in the flour to cover the outside surface so that it does not stick. Grab an edge of the ball and fold it inward toward the middle. Do this a few times to create pockets of air in the dough. Do not punch the dough down as that will remove the air pockets we are trying to create. Do this a few times and then create a nice round ball and place the ball back into the bowl, seam-side down. Recover with the tea towel and again, leave it on that nice warm spot on the counter for another half hour.
- Put an empty dutch oven or similar type pot (I used the one pictured below) into your oven (with the lid on) and set the temperature to preheat to 460 degrees Fahrenheit. This will preheat the oven AND your baking dish.
- Once the dough has risen for 30 minute AND the oven and baking dish have preheated to 460 degrees, place your dough ball onto a piece of parchment paper and using oven gloves to remove the pot and lid, place the dough ball on the paper into the dutch oven. Return the lid and place the pot back in the oven to bake your bread!
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dutch oven after 30 minutes and take out your fresh baked bread by grabbing the parchment paper (with gloves) and place the bread on the paper onto a cooling rack to cool. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before eating.
- Enjoy! 🙏🏼
*** Note – I enjoy the bread this way. If you would like it more toasty and crunchy remove the lid after 30 minutes and continue to bake uncovered for 5-15 minutes more until golden brown and toasty to your liking!
