Crusty Dutch Oven Bread

A lot of my friends thought I nuts for splashing out almost $300 for a Le Creuset Dutch Oven. I knew from the start this would be a lifelong investment piece and not a one-use item. I have already gotten more than my money's worth of use out of it just in all the roasting I have done. But the beauty of a piece like this is not just the beautiful seafoam green colored enamel on the outside, it's the versatility you have on the inside!

Now that summer is in the rearview mirror I like to get back to baking, and I have promised The Chef that I will bake more homemade bread, so after digging through loads of cookbooks from my collection (I should write a post just about THAT one of these days) and browsing bread recipes online I have discovered that bread bakers all over are using those Dutch ovens to bake amazing crusty artisan loaves of beautiful bread. I can do this! 

I have lots of options when it comes to utensils for bread baking. Stoneware pans, metal and glass loaf pans, metal and glass bowls, the pizza stone for foccacia and flatbreads, even a cast iron skillet. I guess it's just natural that I should look at the Dutch oven as well. I love the look of round loaves of bread. I've shared bread recipes before that were round loaves. They remind me of old European bakeries, with the neat slashes on the top and dusting of flour that you often see. Instead of a picture-perfect loaf pan-shaped loaf you get a free-form loaf that's one of a kind with those beautiful imperfections and super crunchy crust. 

Today we are going to make a simple white crusty bread. It's a soft no-knead dough made with regular flour, so you don't have to hunt down fancy flours, grains or anything you probably don't already have on hand, except maybe yeast. I have made this using whole wheat flour before and found it just didn't rise well and seemed heavy like a quick bread- not what I wanted at all.  We use a lot of yeast at our house so we always keep some around, and store it in the fridge so it stays fresher. This dough has no sugar or honey either, so it's a slow-riser, which is perfectly fine- mix up your dough in the morning and let it sit and proof for at least 8 hours before you bake it. You don't have to punch it down or do anything to it so you can make it before you go to work, and bake when you get home. No more excuses for not making fresh, homemade bread!

Let's get started on this super easy bread. You will need-

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt- kosher or sea salt is best
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water- about 105-115 degrees

In a great big bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. I like to use a whisk instead of sifting- really gets things mixed together and keeps it light and fluffy not packed down.

Make a well in the middle and add all of the water. Mix it with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms, but don't go crazy mixing it. You will have a dense, tough bread if you over-mix the dough.

Cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave it sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours, and as long as 24. The dough will rise in the bowl and look bubbly and weird like a science project. I like that brand of plastic wrap that is kinda sticky and seals itself to the bowl rim but if I am out of that I'll even put a plastic grocery bag over the top of my bowl- works great! 

When it's time to bake the bread, turn the oven to 450 degrees. Once the oven is at temp, place the Dutch oven in the oven. Don't worry, your Dutch oven can take it- they are meant for this kind of thing. Let the Dutch oven heat in the oven for thirty minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or table or even the counter top. Flour your hands and form the dough into a ball. I place the inverted bowl over the dough to cover it and let it rest while my Dutch oven preheats.

It doesn't look too impressive when it first goes in the super hot pot.

When the Dutch oven is ready, carefully place the dough in the pot- be careful! It is extremely hot! My Dutch oven is enamel-coated so I don't have to worry about sticking but if you're using some other type of pan or bowl you can place the dough on parchment paper to prevent sticking. Replace the cover and return to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking 10-15 minutes until the loaf is nicely browned and sounds hollow when you tap on it.

After the first 30 minutes. This reminds me of the par-baked
bread you can buy at the grocery store.

Carefully remove from the hot pot and allow to cool on a rack a little bit before slicing. This helps the bread stabilize itself, the steam eases and the bread won't collapse.

Super crispy, super crunchy and perfectly browned!!

If you're like me, you just fell in love with this bread and you'll be playing with flavors and planning to make it again. It works great with things like dried herbs, chopped sun dried tomato bits, garlic, crumbled cooked bacon, even Parmesan cheese. Leftover bread stays fresh for a day or two. Unlike grocery store bread there are no preservatives so it does get moldy around the third or fourth day, if it lasts that long! It also makes excellent croutons the next day- just toss with olive oil or melted butter and toast in a hot skillet until golden brown all over and crispy. I think next time I'll grab some Italian meats, cheeses and tapenade and make my round bread into a muffaletta for football day. Stop back by and share how you enjoyed your round artisan bread! I'd love to hear about it!

The Indian Experiment Part 2

Some time ago I decided to make it a point to try my hand at Indian cooking. So far, that has included only one dish, tandoori chicken. I'm nowhere near done yet- still tons to learn about and master. So many spices and flavors to discover and new ways to prepare things. So here I am, finding myself researching recipes and trying to find ways to best use the ingredients I have on hand. Since I stocked up on almost everything in the spice category, it's pretty safe to say I'm prepared for just about any recipe. No bugs though. And no monkey brains. I always say no to bugs and monkey brains. I may have an adventurous palate but I am nooooo Indiana Jones at a time like this.

Butter chicken, also known as murg makhani, will be my next experiment. Probably one of the most popular dishes, this comes from the Punjab region and can be as mild or as hot as the cook decides.  Mine will not be the burn-your-face-off searing heat many Indian dishes are known for, but a pretty intense blend of flavors, and aromas. The spices cooked briefly in the melted butter is just enough to make the whole house smell wonderful. Poor planning on my part landed Indian night on a weeknight, so I won't have time to play with dough and make pita or naan this time either, darnit. I bet it would have been great for sopping up the creamy, spicy sauce. This dish is often served with lentils, but I think I am going to stick with rice.

The more I get to reading and researching these new foods, the more I find I want to make. In a perfect world I would spend all day cooking and playing with food. If only I had all the time I wanted and an endless supply of ingredients...... a girl can dream though, right?

***Please note, I did not "invent" this recipe, but based it on Food.com's version. I did make a few changes based on ingredients I had on hand, but the result was fantastic. So let's get cooking.

What you need:

2 tb oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
3 tb butter
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tb fresh grated ginger
several dashes chili powder
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods, slightly bruised
1 can tomato puree
1 tb sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tb lemon juice

The method:

Heat oil in large wok or skillet. Add chicken and cook until nicely browned. You may need to do it two batches using 1 tb oil per batch. Remove to bowl and set aside. Reduce heat and add butter to wok. Add all spices to butter and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about a minute.  Return chicken to wok and stir to coat with spices. Add tomatoes and sugar, simmer for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for a few more minutes until thickened. Serve over rice. (Make sure to fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods- you don't want to eat those)

I'm so in love with fresh summer squash stir fried with Indian seasonings that again I went with that as a side. I have only made one other Indian dish so it can't technically be called a "rut" just yet. I like the mildness of the squash compared to the bold flavor of the entree- I don't have a plate full of competing flavors, which is more important to me. Concentrate on ONE dish and do it really well, and try a new side later, maybe when I have a couple extra hours for bread-making as well. 

Anyway, this dish really did come together very quickly, which is perfect for a weeknight when you don't want to spend the whole evening in the kitchen. It's basically a one-pot entree as well. If you are one of those super organized cooks, you can pre-prep just about everything- cut up the chicken, vegetables, mix the spices ahead of time. Then it's just a matter of heat, dump, saute and simmer. Done! Convenience food that's actually GOOD for you! I think we might be on to something here!