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I have tried several bread recipes before I created THE ONE that binds them all.

I cannot take full credit for this though, I owe a lot of my inspiration to John Kirkwood on YouTube

I found this incredibly flavourful and if you like this, there are a few other bits to try if you have the fridge space to take it to another level.  Here are a few tips and tricks

• The Dutch Oven is important and make sure you give plenty of time for it to preheat with the oven.
• Experiment, try adjusting the salt quantity for personal taste (in this case I tried 20g)
• Try proofing longer for more flavour (put it in the fridge overnight for the 1st round)
• Try adding a portion of sourdough starter
• * Try spraying (or adding droplets) of water to the bread after placing it in the dutch oven for the first 30 minutes for extra crispy crust
  • Spraying the bread and keeping it covered for the first part of the bake has a twofold effect, both keeping the crust from forming too early in the process and ensuring that once it does form, it’s as crisp and burnished as can be.
• Don’t knead dough for 2nd rise, just make sure the air is evenly distributed
• If you have the time and space, try to pre-ferment a portion of the bread mix to create a starter (similar to sourdough bread) and you can use the John Setzler – Kamado Joe recipe found on YouTube

Servings: makes one loaf

Hydration: 65%

PREP: Between 1 week and 5 1/2 hours

Cooking Time: one hour

Ingredients:

• 500g Strong white bread flour
• 325g tepid water
• 7g instant or active dried yeast
• 15g vegetable oil
• 2tsp Table salt
• Seeds for top of bread, I’m using 1tbl of sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

1. 1. Proof the yeast in tepid water and oil* (Optional, I didn’t use oil to proof the yeast but did oil the bowl before flouring it)
   2. Place in mixer and knead yeast, salt and flour for 10 minutes (you could do this manually but… why?)
   3. 1st rise – Cover bowl and let it rise 2 hours or overnight in the fridge (the longer you leave it the better the flavours)
   4. Slightly wet the countertop, uncover dough and fold it in half on the counter top, being careful not to compress it too much – it doesn’t need to be kneaded again
   5. 2nd rise – Place dough back in bowl, cover it again and set the dough aside to let it rise a second time (about an hour but you don’t have to be exact)
   6. Butter and Oil a bowl (used to transfer dough to Dutch oven)
   7. Slightly wet the countertop, uncover dough and fold it in half on the counter top, being careful not to compress it too much.
   8. 3rd rise – Place dough in oiled and floured bowl, lightly flour the top and cover with tea towel and set aside until dough has increased in volume by half, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours longer (dough is quite jiggly).
   9. Preheat oven (with Dutch Oven inside) to 230°C while dough is rising the last time ( for at least 30 minutes to give Dutch oven time to preheat)
   10. Carefully transfer the dough to Dutch oven (floured top goes to the bottom), give dough some swirls (to centralise it), slice the top of the dough with a sharp knife with your personal sign and to give the dough room to rise in the oven, (spray with water – optional *see comment on water), cover and return to preheated oven for 30 minutes
   11. After the initial 30 minutes, uncover and bake until crust is dark brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
   12. Remove from oven and place bread on cooling rack, allow to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.

I loved this recipe, if you decide to preferment – I suggest trying a recipe I found on YouTube by Kamado Joe – John Setzler

While he did this on his Kamado Joe BBQ, you can follow the exact same recipe in the oven

Ingredients:

(Pre-Ferment)

• 120 grams water (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon active dry instant yeast
• 105 grams (3/4 cup) whole wheat flour

(Remaining Loaf Ingredients)

• 240 grams lukewarm water (1 cup)
• 375 grams (2 1/2 cups) bread flour
• 12 grams (2 teaspoons) fine grind sea salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of 50/50 mix of all purpose flour and rice flour for proofing basket.

Directions:

Pre-ferment and initial rise (1 day to a week)

• Combine the pre-ferment ingredients and mix well in a small mixing bowl.
• Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit on the countertop at room temperature for 12 hours.
• If you need to go longer than 12 hours, put it in the refrigerator after 12 hours at room temperature.
• Remove the pre-ferment to a large mixing bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix completely.
• Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours.
• After the rise, place the covered container in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to a full week. (The flavors continue to develop in this bread as it sits in the refrigerator for longer periods of time.)

Combine for bread (7 hours)

• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a floured work surface.
• Spread the dough into a rectangle or circle and fold each side inward on itself and then flip over and shape into a round loaf, turning and folding it under until you have a tight skin across the top of the dough ball.
• Set the formed loaf on the floured surface and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Place the loaf skin side down into a floured brotform proofing basket or a similar sized bowl that has been lined with a linen towel or linen dinner napkin that has been liberally dusted with the 50/50 flour/rice flour mixture.
• Cover and let rise for 4 to 5 hours or until doubled in size.
• While the loaf is proofing in the basket, preheat your grill to 475°F / 245°C and set up for indirect cooking.
• Preheat your 4 or 5 quart dutch oven with the grill.
• After the bread has risen adequately, remove it from the proofing basket or bowl and place it in the dutch oven on the grill.
• Score the top of the loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade.
• Cover the dutch oven with the lid and let cook covered on the grill for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, open the grill and remove the lid from the dutch oven.
• Cook for an additional 20 minutes.
• Remove the dutch oven from the grill and remove the bread loaf to a cooling rack.
• Let cool completely (at least two hours) before slicing! 

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