If you don't have a dutch oven, you can place a large cast iron skillet into the oven before pre-heat. When the bread goes into the oven, add one cup of boiling water to the cast iron skillet. Only the first few minutes are important for steam anyway.
If the yeast is Active Dry, then proof it with the recipe water (should be warm or ~100 degrees F), a couple of tablespoons of the recipe flour and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar.
Mix the flour, yeast, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the water (just the first water listed, not the soaker water), beer, and vinegar and use a rubber spatula to mix all ingredients into a shaggy mixture.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place a towel on top of it. Keep this in a warm spot in your kitchen for 8-18 hours to let rise.
For the soaker ingredients, combine and soak for one hour before use.
Line a skillet with a 12"x18" sheet of parchment paper that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Turn out your dough onto a floured surface and knead, 10-15 times, kneading in the soaker ingredients. Pull the edges of the dough underneath to make a neat looking ball and place that on the parchment lining the skillet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for approximately 2 to 3 hours. 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500? with a covered Dutch oven or heavy pot inside.
Just before baking, dust the top of the bread with flour and make scores about ?" deep with a sharp knife. I usually do an X pattern (if you're not now you never were!) but it really couldn't matter less. Take the Dutch oven out of the oven carefully and take the lid off. Pick up the dough from the edges of the parchment, like a little bread hammock, and lower it into the Dutch oven. Place the lid on top and put it back into the oven. Reduce the oven heat to 425?. Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread reaches 210?, about 30 minutes more. Remove the pot from the oven and use your sling to pull the bread out of the pot. Allow to rest for 2 hours on a cooling rack.
Original recipe notes: One of the really interesting things about this recipe is the baking covered / baking uncovered step. In professional bakeries, they will often use steam to produce a crusty exterior. Obviously home ovens do not have the ability to inject steam into the oven during the baking process, but by baking inside of the Dutch oven, the dough emits its own steam during baking. Keeping the steam enclosed in such a small area emulates the steam injection process, giving us the crusty exterior. What an ingenious and important step. Now we know, and knowing�s half the battle.
Gary's notes: I have modified the ingredients list of the original recipe to use weight instead of measurement for the ingredients. Most bakers weigh the ingredients for better accuracy, because a packed cup of flour is not the same amount as a loose cup of flour, but 4.5 oz is always 4.5 oz. I strongly recommend a good kitchen scale. I have the Soehnle 67080 Page Profi Kitchen Scale and I consider it perfect: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LSUC9W/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For the Dutch oven, I use a Lodge Cast Iron:
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-5-Quart-Double-Casserole-Skillet/dp/B000LEXR0K/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1361015125&sr=1-4&keywords=lodge+dutch+oven
This one will also work:
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Pre-Seasoned-Combo-Cooker/dp/B0009JKG9M/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1NKZXW864TFYD&coliid=IITS4055HX6CA
I also modified the recipe to add the soaker ingredients (the seeds and rolled oats). The soaker is optional but really makes this bread sing. The soaker can be added either with the other ingredients or folded into the dough just prior to shaping when it is kneaded. I recommend folding into the dough because I have had problems getting a good first rise with the soaker in the dough at rise time. There is good reason, however, to add the soaker when the bread is first mixed: For the experienced baker, it allows for adjustment of the dough with more water or flour according to the type of flour, elevation, etc.
I actually grind my own grain and so I use hard white winter wheat. It's even harder to get a good rise with home stone ground but this recipe does a good job of getting the best possible rise. I have found for stone ground that it can also help to knead the bread lightly when the ingredients are first mixed.
View line-by-line Nutrition Insights™: Discover which ingredients contribute the calories/sodium/etc.
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Serving Size: 1 Loaf (849g) | ||
Recipe Makes: 1 Loaf | ||
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Calories: 1709 | ||
Calories from Fat: 587 (34%) | ||
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Amt Per Serving | % DV | |
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Total Fat 65.2g | 87 % | |
Saturated Fat 14.4g | 72 % | |
Monounsaturated Fat 12.9g | ||
Polyunsanturated Fat 23.5g | ||
Cholesterol 0mg | 0 % | |
Sodium 19671.6mg | 678 % | |
Potassium 4336.8mg | 114 % | |
Total Carbohydrate 296.9g | 87 % | |
Dietary Fiber 158.1g | 632 % | |
Sugars, other 138.8g | ||
Protein 63.9g | 91 % | |
Powered by: USDA Nutrition Database Disclaimer: Nutrition facts are derived from linked ingredients (shown at left in colored bullets) and may or may not be complete. Always consult a licensed nutritionist or doctor if you have a nutrition-related medical condition. |
Calories per serving: 1709
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