Crusty Artisan Bread

This was my first attempt ever at making a crusty artisan loaf that you would typically find in a fresh bakery. I was shocked how easy it was, and the texture was great.  I found this recipe for a no knead bread from the Comfort of Cooking, and stayed fairly true to the original recipe.

I began my dough the night before, and let it sit through the night and next day until dinner time.  I forgot to cover the pot while baking those first 30 minutes, but it still turned out just fine.  So if you too forget, don't worry!

I'm not sure how well this type of bread would do with grain free flours.  If you choose to try this bread grain and gluten free, Quinoa flour would be my starting point as I've found that to bake fluffy, and is most similar to whole wheat (from previous experiments).

Here's what you need:

3 cups flour (I used a combo of white whole wheat and spelt)
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp active dry yeast (one packet is about 1.5 tsps)
1.5 cups lukewarm water

Here's what you do:

1.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, and yeast.

2.  Add water and stir until the mixture is combined, careful not to over stir.

Dough just combined

3.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 - 24 hours.  Dough will bubble and rise.

After sitting overnight

4.  When dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Place Dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

5.  While Dutch oven preheats, turn dough onto a well-floured surface and with well-floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest.

6.  After the 30 minutes are up, remove dutch oven and carefully place bread dough into it (I placed a silicon baking mat in my Dutch oven and placed dough on top of that).

7.  Cover Dutch oven, and bake for 30 minutes.

8.  Bake an additional 7 minutes uncovered.  Makes 8 large slices.

This bread is great with stew, soup, or salad.  Click on any of the links below to see some of my favorite recipes.

Cream of Broccoli
Black-Eyed Peas and Quinoa Chili
1 Pot Chickpea, Lentil, and Butternut Stew

Enjoy!

Nutrition Info for per Slice:

Calories: 150

Fat: 0.7 g

Saturated Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 210 mg

Carbohydrates: 27 g

Fiber: 4.6 g

Sugars: 0 g

Protein: 6.1 g

UPDATE: I made this bread tonight using quinoa flour.  I took whole, uncooked white quinoa and ground it until it became a powder.  I used equal substitutions and did not add anything.  It came out a little heavier than the first loaf with white whole wheat flour, but tasted delicious.  Grain and gluten free.

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