Crusty Dutch Oven Bread

How to Make Crusty Dutch Oven Bread

Posted on by Carie Perrino

Crusty Dutch Oven BreadI found this dutch oven bread after several years of trying to perfect the art of making bread. And it truly is an art. The right amount of yeast, salt, flour and time to rise all contribute to flavor and texture of your bread. Some batches were too dense or they didn’t rise enough to look like a fancy artisan bread – more like a flat disc…

Finally, I found this recipe that is fool proof! This crusty dutch oven bread is almost impossible to screw up. It is simple – mix the ingredients together and leave it alone for about half a day. Bake it and its delicious 100% of the time.

The hardest thing about this recipe is just letting the bread sit and doing nothing!

As you could probably guess by the title, this bread is made in a dutch oven. This is the dutch oven that I use, it was a hand me down from Brandon’s mom and I make everything in it now! Bread, soups, stews, etc. Having a heavy bottom cast iron pot is great for all sorts of cooking and would be a great investment if you don’t have one already. In doing a quick google search it looks like they range in price from $25-$300+ if you want the fancy name brand Le Creuset Signature Dutch Oven.

Need something to eat with your bread? Try our 5-ingredient cauliflower soup! I like to make croutons out of my bread to add a nice crunch to this soup.

Crusty Dutch Oven Bread
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 6 C all purpose flour
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • 3 C water (warm)
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl mix together flour, salt and yeast. Pour water into bowl and mix ingredients together until incorporated. Cover bowl with a clean towel and let sit in a warm place for 15-20 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add dutch oven and lid to the oven during the preheat time. You want the dutch oven heat up as well
  3. Flour your work surface and hands. With floured hands gently remove the bread dough from the bowl. The bread can be very sticky. I find that it helps to sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough, especially around the edges of the bowl so that it drops down the sides as you pick up the dough.
  4. Shape your dough into a ball and drop it into the hot dutch oven. Put the lid back on and place it in the oven.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
  6. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Notes
I have a very large (6.5Qt) dutch oven so this recipe makes a lot of bread. If you have a smaller dutch oven you can cut the recipe in half and it still works great!

**Nutrition information is not provided due alterations that can be made to accommodate food sensitivities.

 

Alternatives:
Flour – I wouldn’t get too crazy with gluten free flour blends unless you have a blend that you use as all-purpose flour. I have not had a chance to experiment with gluten free bread at this time. You can use whole wheat flour for a different flavor profile. This would be used in the same quantity.

Additions: 
If you are feeling fancy, add some spices/herbs to your bread like garlic, basil, oregano, etc!

Products:

Here are other great recipes to make with these products: Cauliflower Soup

Did you add any other flavorings? We would love to know what you tried!

Enjoy!

Thick Crust Pizza

Homemade Thick Pizza Crust

Posted on by Carie Perrino

Thick Crust PizzaWho doesn’t love pizza? Brandon and I like to keep frozen pizza crusts in the freezer for those days when we just don’t feel like cooking! When I was going through my elimination diet one of the foods I had to trial was wheat. Through this I discovered that I can tolerate wheat which was such a relief!

There is such a stigma against wheat/gluten these days and a lack of understanding of why it is necessary for some people to cut out. What most people don’t know is that by cutting out gluten for a long period of time when it is not necessary your body starts to have a difficult time breaking it down when you add it back in. If you can tolerate gluten why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that?

This recipe makes 2 thick crust 12-inch pizzas. Of course your could always divide it into 3 thin crust or even 4 individual pizzas if you and your family like different toppings.

The easiest way to make pizza dough is of course in a stand mixer with a hook attachment but you could always make it the old fashioned way (with your hands).

Homemade Thick Crust Pizza
 
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Author:
Serves: 2 pizzas
Ingredients
  • 4C all-purpose flour
  • 1T + 1t active dry yeast
  • 1T + 1t sugar
  • 2t salt
  • 1T + 1t oil
  • 12oz warm water
  • 1t oil
Instructions
To make in stand mixer:
  1. Place flour in mixer bowl and create a well.
  2. Fill well with yeast, sugar, salt, 1T + 1t oil, and water.
  3. Attach dough hook to mixer and turn mixer on low until ingredients are combined (about 3 minutes)
  4. Turn mixer on medium speed and knead for 5-10 minutes until ball forms, push flour down as needed.
To make by hand:
  1. Place flour into large bowl and create a well.
  2. Fill well with yeast, sugar, salt, 1T + 1t oil, and water.
  3. Stir with spoon until combined (you may need to use your hands).
  4. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes by hand until ball forms.
Once you have the dough ball:
  1. Coat dough ball with 1t oil and cover with clean, dry towel.
  2. Place in warm place away from drafts until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
  3. Turn dough out on floured surface and punch down to remove excess air.
  4. Divide dough into 2 pieces.
  5. Roll out each piece into 12in pizza.
To make right away:
  1. Top with pizza sauce and your favorite toppings!
  2. Bake at 400 for about 12-15 minutes or until edges are brown and bottom is fully cooked.
To save for later:
  1. Pre-bake crust on pizza pan for about 5 minutes at 500 degrees until slightly brown and bottom is fully cooked.
Notes
Nutrition information is not provided due alterations that can be made to accommodate food sensitivities.

 

Alternatives:
There are always substitutions that you can make in order to still enjoy the foods that you love! Here are a few substitutions that you can make in this recipe.

Sugar – I didn’t specify the type of sugar because you can use cane sugar or beet sugar.
Oil – choose a mild oil that you can tolerate that doesn’t contribute a strong flavor to the pizza crust.
Examples: olive oil, refined coconut oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil

 

Thick Crust Pizza 1

 

Give it a shot and make your own pizza crust! Not only is it better than ordering out but it has minimal ingredients and no preservatives 🙂

Products we use:

Here’s another great recipes to make with your stand mixer and smart oven: Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

We make pretty traditional pizza. What are your favorite toppings?

Enjoy!