How delicious this bread is, I fell in love with it!! The simple bread in a cast iron dutch oven is a bread that after the initial kneading is left overnight (at least 10/12 hours) in the refrigerator, then folded and baked inside this cast iron dutch oven!
This is my bread in a cast iron pot (dutch oven): crunchy crust and soft inside, with cold fermentation.
I bought this pot – casserole – dutch oven a few months ago at Lidl and it fits well within my family budget, much lower than the more famous and likely fantastic Staub and Le Creuset brands and it seems to do its job very well: I recommend it!
The cast iron dutch oven I bought from Lidl is small, with a capacity of 3 quarts and is suitable for the small size of my family, which is just me and my young teenage son!
Cooking in cast iron (iron and carbon-based material) develops heat slowly and evenly, and is suitable for preparing recipes that require prolonged cooking like meats, fish, and vegetables AND THEY ARE FANTASTIC FOR BAKING BREAD.
However, cast iron pots are rather heavy and not very handy
they absorb odors and many models are not dishwasher safe and must be cleaned with mild dish soap and dried immediately to prevent rust (mine is enamel-coated, so…)
What recipes can be cooked in a cast iron pot?
All types of white and red meats, and even game, so braised dishes, stews, and roasts are fair game. But we can also cook fish in sauce, with mixed vegetable broths, and even shellfish like cuttlefish and calamari, and even cod!
For convenience, I used the stand mixer but it is an easy and simple dough that can also be made very well in a bowl with a spoon, no problem!
If you don’t have a cast iron dutch oven, you can use an enamel-coated cast iron casserole or an oven-proof pot with a lid.
The recipe for the simple bread in a cast iron dutch oven comes from this blog, and it seems perfect to me (Thanks Silvia!)
Every now and then, I bake bread and I leave you other recipes that have satisfied me, such as:
SEMOLINA BREAD
MIXED SEED BREAD
SIMPLE BREAD IN CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN
The cuisine of ASI
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 14 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 3/4 cup semolina flour
- 1/2 tsp instant yeast (for me Mastro Fornaio)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (+ a teaspoon for the container)
Tools
- Stand Mixer
- Spoon
- Bowl
- Food Scale
Preparation
For the simple bread baked in a cast iron dutch oven, I poured the 3 flours into the stand mixer (or bowl) and mixed them well together.
I pour in half the amount of water (around 5 oz to be precise) and mix this granular, non-homogeneous dough, a bit crumbly.
I let it rest for 30 minutes, but if it’s longer, don’t worry!
In a glass, I pour the instant yeast, add a couple of tablespoons of water, a teaspoon of sugar, and wait for the foam to form that indicates the yeast is activating.
To the crumbly mix after 30 minutes, I add the EVO oil, the rest of the water (5 oz), and the dissolved instant yeast.
Mix with the K whisk if I have the stand mixer or with a simple spoon. The sticky mixture will gradually become homogeneous, and I also add the salt.
Change to the dough hook or continue kneading to get a homogeneous and well-incorporated dough.
Slightly oil a container, preferably rectangular, place the dough ball inside, and close the lid.
Leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours, then put it in the refrigerator for 10/12 hours. If left longer, don’t worry…
The next day, take the container, and our dough will have risen and tripled in volume!
We let it acclimate for a couple of hours, leaving it in the bowl but outside the refrigerator.
After the time has passed, sprinkle the work surface with semolina and turn the risen dough onto it.
We roll it out into a rectangle and fold it as you see in the pictures below.
The three-fold helps create the gluten structure, aids in the rising process, and strengthens the dough and the crumb structure.
After the first round of folds slightly flatten the dough, turn it 90 degrees, leave the fold closure underneath and round it (from rounding) meaning round the dough ball with your palms and press the edges downwards. It will turn into a dome-shaped and well-sealed dough ball.
The three-fold is done for bread, pizza, sandwich bread, etc.
Repeat the process 2 to 3 times, then place the dough ball on a parchment paper sheet and let it rise again.
After the time has passed, preheat the oven to 482°F and place the cast iron dutch oven with its lid inside. (Same temperature for classic baking without cast iron)
If you have a blade to decorate the bread, trace flowers, leaves, or something else.. I don’t have one and tried clumsily to make some designs…
After half an hour, place the dough with the parchment paper in the cast iron dutch oven and leave it at 482°F for 30 minutes.
Then, with a lot of potholders, towels, and more, extract the cast iron pot and remove the lid which will be extremely hot, so be careful!!!!
Let it cook for another 10 minutes, lowering the temperature to 464°F.
IF we are doing a traditional bake, place the bread in the oven at 446°F, then immediately lower to 410°F and let it bake for about 40 minutes.
As you can see from the photos, the simple bread in the cast iron dutch oven seems to have turned out well, plus it’s so delicious that by evening there wasn’t a crumb left!!!!!!
Enjoy your meal!
Annalisa
