Meet Delphine, my residing Kitchen Witch :). A few weeks ago, I made bread dough to rise over night, and in the morning it was soft & spongy, way too gooey to handle. I almost threw it in the trash....but instead Delphine gave me a tip: "Put your cast iron pot in the hot oven and just plop it in. See what happens!"
And so I did :)....and now I have the perfect, QUICK, recipe to share with you. I believe I was making a "5 minute bread recipe"...it may be a combination of a few tested recipes. A few easy steps, and you will have a fabulous, European style bread.
I make the dough at night (takes me about 3 minutes), and let it rise overnight.
You will need:
3 cups of white flour
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1.5 tblsp yeast
1 tblsp salt
about 2-3 warm (not hot) water
A cast iron dutch oven
Step One:In a large bowl (I use the mixing bowl from my KitchenAide), mix the ingredients. Your dough should be wet, not dry. You are not going to knead this bread, you basically just stir enough to get everything mixed up.
Step Two:Cover your bowl with a plastic top or something that will let a little air in. I use a plastic lid from a Tupper plate :). Let is sit overnight or at least 12 hours. When you open the lid, the dough will look something like this...spongy & wet. That is perfect!
Step Three: Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Have your uncovered pot in the oven, as well as a deep cookie sheet (this will hold water. Use metal, not ceramic...Ceramic or stone will crack).
Of course you could never scoop this up with your hands, so.....
Sprinkle a little flour over the top and begin to lift it from the edges with a big spoon. Keep sprinkling flour until you have a ball in your plate. Do NOT mix. You are just trying to get it from the bowl.
Step Four:
When your oven is at 450, pull out the pot enough that you PLOP your dough in. Here is a tip: Make sure your cast iron is always seasoned. This way, the dough will not stick to the pan. No oiling necessary.
Quickly put one cup of water in your cookie sheet below your put and CLOSE THE OVEN FAST. I do all this in a mere few seconds. I have my cup of water ready. The water creates steam, and you want to lock it all in with the heat as fast as possible.
Bake for 45 minutes.
ABRACADABRA!!!
This is what you get :)......mmm...
Take out of the pot and put on a cooling rack, or your burner, like I do :).
You should wait at least an hour before cutting, if you can. If you cut it if it still warm, it is very soft inside. With that said, we can never wait an hour and cut it anyways :).
This bread holds well for a few days, you just want to keep the cut side covered. I do not put it in anything, I just leave it sitting on the cutting board, with the cut side down, and a knife...ready for cutting any time :). If the bread does dry out, it is excellent for bread crumbs.
Kitchen Witch Commentary: (Delphine) "It took a lot of hard work and persuading to get my Witch to try this bread. Now she makes it in her sleep, and I can just savour the wonderful aroma of witchy bread."
P.S. Need a Kitchen Witch? Check out www.etsy.com/shop/goddessinthegroove
:)
