Hands Down Best Loaf of CRUNCHY bread Ever !!!
When I tell you this really is the bread of dreams...extra crunchy on the outside, soft, light, and savory on the inside. It’s everything you would want in a bread. I can’t remember where I found this recipe but I wish I could thank the chef for sharing this gem.
Crunchy Bread
Vegan | Dairy-Free
Ingredients:
500g AP flour + more for dusting (King Arthur or Shepherd’s Mills, preferred; the better the quality the better the bread!)
400g water
11g salt
4g instant dried yeast
Equipment
4-5 Qt Dutch Oven with lid
Large bowl or tub (for mixing the dough)
Procedure:
Combine flour, water in the large tub until everything is just combined. Cover and rest for 30 Minutes.
Add yeast and salt, sprinkling evenly over dough. With your hands, mix by gently pulling the dough and folding it onto itself. Continue this for 2 minutes until the dough is taught. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. You should see the dough rise. (Tip: wet your hands to prevent the dough from sticking.)
Visualizing the dough as a quadrant, gently grab one corner and fold it up and over onto itself, repeating 3 more times. After 1 hour repeat this again. Let rest for approximately 3 hours or until the dough has about tripled in size. (This could happen slower or faster depending on the ambient temperature, if left in a warmer spot the dough will rise quicker)
Preheat the oven to 475°F. Dust a clean work surface with flour and coat hands with flour to prevent dough from sticking to them. Shape the dough into a ball shape by using your fingertips to tuck the outside edges of the dough into itself in a circular motion. Dust a large cutting board with flour and place dough balls on top. Dust the top of the balls with flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap so the balls are not exposed to the air. Let the dough proof for about an hour.
While waiting for the dough to proof, place dutch oven into the oven to prepare for baking the bread.
After an hour the dough should be proofed. Check by lightly poking with a floured finger. If the dough slowly springs back, it's ready to bake. If it springs back immediately it needs more time to proof, check back in 15 minutes.
BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL! Remove the dutch oven from the oven. Carefully remove the lid and gently place the dough inside. Cover and return to the oven, bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and bake another 20-30 minutes, until browned and crusty.
Remove the bread to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before digging in.- it will be hard to wait but worth it!