This bread recipe comes from a magazine we subscribe to, which I’d recommend to everyone, Cook’s Illustrated; the Jan 2008 edition. I’ve been making this bread once a week for months now and it has fast become our favorite bread recipe because it is so easy and has a professional crust.
Perfect Loaf
One requirement is having an oven-safe pot with a lid; a dutch oven. We use an aluminum one, but cast iron and other flavors would work just as well.
Ingredients:
- 3 C all-purpose flour
- 1/4 t instant yeast
- 1.5 t table salt
- 7 oz water (room temp)
- 3 oz Budweizer
- 1 T white vinegar
Preparation:
Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl with a whisk. Pour in the wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until all the flour is absorbed (about 1 min). Cover and let sit overnight at room temp (8-18 hrs) (this replaces kneading found in most recipes). Punch down and then knead 12 times on a floured surface. Line a steep-sided bowl (similar size to your dutch oven) with tinfoil or parchment paper and put dough in there, cover, and let rest 2 hours. Preheat oven to 450 with the dutch oven and lid inside. Reduce oven temperature to 425 and carefully remove dutch oven and transfer dough with liner to the pot, replace lid, and bake for 30 mins. Remove lid and bake another 20 mins, then remove from oven and place dough on cooling rack for a couple hours before slicing.
