{"id":1216264,"date":"2025-02-17T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1216264"},"modified":"2025-02-17T08:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:30:00","slug":"the-dutch-oven-sourdough-recipe-i-use-every-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1216264","title":{"rendered":"The Dutch Oven Sourdough Recipe I Use Every Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There are a few tricks with home bread baking that make the difference between a lackluster loaf and a spectacular one. One of them is having a heavy duty baking surface to get a nice bottom crust, and another is creating a steamy environment for a lofty loaf. Managing these requirements might sound like a challenge, or like expensive equipment might be involved, but you can actually solve both needs with a common piece of cookware: the Dutch oven.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why you should bake bread in a Dutch oven<\/h2>\n

A heavy duty baking surface, like a baking stone, is easy enough to come by, but a steam injected oven like the bakeries have is not as common at home. Steam is essential for a fully risen loaf of bread that cracks open exactly where you score it. The moist air allows for oven spring and it\u2019s the last time your bread rises after all that proofing. Without moisture, the bread will immediately develop a dry skin that impedes the oven spring. This can stunt your loaf and also cause it to tear open at an unintended seam as the inside of the bread starts rising a few minutes later. Moist air in the first five to 10 minutes of baking ensures the crust doesn\u2019t develop too early and the dough can expand as much as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the ol\u2019 pan of water trick, where you add water to a hot pan in the oven in hopes that it\u2019ll steam things up while your bread bakes, but I find that this isn\u2019t always enough because the oven is such a large space and the steam vents out quickly. If only you had a small, enclosed space made from a heavy duty material to capture the bread\u2019s natural moisture and evenly distribute the heat. Oh. Right. <\/p>\n

The Dutch oven is like a baking stone and<\/em> a steam keeper all rolled into one. (And if you don’t have one yet, here are some affordable options<\/a>.) The Dutch oven makes a huge difference in the rise my sourdough gets compared to the baking stone and water pan method.<\/p>\n

How to make bread in a Dutch oven\u00a0<\/h2>\n

You can make any yeast-raised bread in a Dutch oven (and a ton of other stuff<\/u><\/a> too), just make sure the loaf isn\u2019t too big for the pot that you have. A round loaf of bread that\u2019s fully proofed and ready to bake should have an inch of clearance all the way around and a few inches above. A lot of rise is what we\u2019re counting on, so you don\u2019t want the space to be cramped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When your bread dough has already done the bulk proof, and it\u2019s been shaped, place it on a large piece of parchment paper for its second proof. Then get to setting up your oven. <\/p>\n

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\n Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

My dutch oven is rather tall so I put the rack down to the second-to-bottom position so I have enough space. About 30 minutes before your bread is finished proofing, put a lid on your Dutch oven and put it in the oven to preheat. Set the oven to whatever temperature you need. I\u2019ll set mine to 450\u00b0F for the sourdough. Keep in mind that most Dutch ovens are oven safe up to 500\u00b0F or higher, but sometimes the handle on the lid isn\u2019t. Check your brand to make sure. If your lid isn\u2019t oven safe, use a baking sheet to cover the top. It\u2019s not perfect but it\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n

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\n Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Once the bread is ready to be baked, score the bread how you\u2019d like. I’m partial to the square score. Carefully take the Dutch oven out of the oven with mitts on. Remove the lid. Lift the bread up by the parchment paper corners and lower it into the pot. Put the lid on (if you\u2019re using a baking sheet \u201clid,\u201d put it on once the pot is in the oven) and put the entire Dutch oven back into the conventional oven. Bake it for as long as your recipe indicates, but with 10 minutes left in the baking time, remove the lid so the bread can brown. Take the bread out of the pot carefully to cool on a wire rack.<\/p>\n

My Dutch oven sourdough recipe<\/h2>\n

This recipe uses a sourdough starter for flavor and the leavening, of course. However, if you\u2019re not in the business of keeping starter around (and if you want to but it keeps failing, read this<\/u><\/a>) then you can just stir one teaspoon of active dry yeast into the water measurement before adding the flour and salt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/p>\n