Welcome to CORONA-GEDDON 2020.

I’m sorry, I know we are all full of jokes now but this thing is a serious matter. If you can stay home just stay home. I am currently working from home and I am so happy to finally have a separate office from Brett in our new home (more on that soon!!). I am, of course, always stocked to the brim in my pantry and looking forward to some recipe testing and writing this weekend.

I have a ton of content coming your way. In fact, I had a “welcome back” post drafted but this one seemed more timely to get out to you today. I was on the phone with a friend earlier who was telling me how they stopped at a few places and they were out of bread!!

It made me realize that I love to share this super easy dutch oven bread recipe with friends but it has lived buried in my Potato Corn Chowder post and I am constantly told to give it it’s own dedicated post. So here it is folks! With a few simple ingredients, (I would hope you have stocked in your pantries) you can make your own loaf of bread! No panic needed!! I’ve also spent a day in the past making a couple loaves and freezing them for parties/the future.

I hope this is helpful if you’re looking for an alternative and stay safe!

Homemade Bread in Dutch Oven

• 6 cups Flour
• 2 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Dry Active Yeast
• 2 2/3 cups Cold Water

Mix all your ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 12-18 hours. I usually do mine before bed to bake the next morning. **It’s best to let your dough rise in a warm room, sometimes in the winter I have a bit of trouble finding a spot in my drafty house but you can leave it in any room**

On your counter put down a linen dish towel and a piece of parchment on top. Flour them well (I find too much flour is never a problem). Then flour a separate work surface and fold your dough (with well-floured hands!) a few times to create a loose ball (DONT OVERWORK! The more you work it the denser it will be). Transfer dough to the parchment paper and fold up loosely, then tie the towel that is under it. Let rise for an additional 2 hours. In that time put your dutch oven in your oven and preheat to 425 degrees (I usually start this about 30 minutes before the 2 hours is up).

Once your oven is preheated take the dutch oven out, flour the inside a bit, and quickly turn your dough out of the parchment and into the pot. I sometimes shake my dough a bit to make sure it evenly distributes around but it doesn’t have to be perfect. I find if I fuss with it too much the bread doesn’t rise well and tastes dense. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, then take the top off and cook an additional 10 minutes to let it brown on top. Remove bread from Dutch oven and cool completely before slicing.