I N G R E D I E N T S
3 cups bread flour (aerate before measuring)
2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups hot water (I just get the water from my kitchen sink as hot as it will go)
Additional flour for shaping
I N S T R U C T I O N S
1. Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water until well combined.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. After 40 minutes, place a 3 to 6 quart Dutch oven with lid in a cold oven and preheat to 450 F.
4. After the dough has rested for the hour, place it on a well floured surface and sprinkle with a little flour. I use a cake scraper to fold the dough 10-15 times and shape it into a rough ball.
5. Place in a parchment paper lined bowl and cover with a towel or another bowl. Let stand on counter top for 15 min.
6. After 15 minutes transfer into the dutch oven and cover it with the lid. Bake for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and parchment paper. Return, uncovered, to oven and bake 10-15 more minutes. Let it cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
This bread is great for sandwiches, fancy spreads, and various homemade butters. It is best served right after baking and it definitely best the day of.
B R E A D + L I F E
In bread baking, the word proofing most commonly refers to the final rise dough undergoes, which takes place after being shaped into a loaf, and before it is baked. I looked up this word today and related to it in so many ways. During a time of empty schedules and open nights I have been forced to rest and it has shaped me in a new way. It has revealed where I run when the silence creeps in and it has reminded me why that same silence is so important. Resting and rising after being shaped and molded is what I feel like this time has been for me mentally, spiritually, and physically. A typical week for me has no margin for silence or alone time, I plan everything out to the minute. I am often late for one thing because I was late getting out of the event before. Like a hamster I spin on a wheel never slowing down almost trapped in the motion. BUT I have had time to proof and rise and rest and I am so thankful for it. BUT the thing about this proofing process is that it is for something greater. We don’t have a renewed mind, a rested soul, and a shaped and risen perspective for nothing. We are given these predicaments to prepare to go under fire, so the height we rise to, the shape we are formed in, and the rest we’ve experienced is solidified in us. This season of proofing is producing in us something that will be made transformative when the heat comes. What a powerful realization. I say all this to encourage you to look around at the bowl you’re proofing in and take into account what the heat of the oven will solidify in you. Is it what you want?
*Recipe derived from https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/2-hour-fastest-no-knead-bread/