i just got a dutch oven and want to try my hand at bread

[fizzgig]

i've got mark bittman's recipe and it looks simple enough, but i'm not a baker. any tips?

i don't see anything about greasing or oiling the dutch oven. is it going to stick if i don't? the pot is enameled. should i use ap or bread flour? should i sift the flour? what works best to mix the dough? how long after taking it out of the over should i pull it out of the pot?

my husband is particularly interested in this, so i want it to turn out well. i'm going to start the dough tuesday night and have it with chicken stew for dinner wednesday. i'm pretty excited about this

[Warpy]

1. Your first bread should be

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html It is goof proof as long as you use all purpose or bread flour (instead of expensive cake flour) and measure everything accurately and have yeast that's still alive.

I guarantee it will come out better than any bread you've ever tasted.

[fizzgig]

2. goof proof sounds good

that's the recipe i've got, but i'm a bit intimidated despite the simplicity. just a new realm for me

[cbayer]

3. It's so easy and sooooo good.

No grease in the dutch oven, but make sure that you heat the dutch oven in the stove while it is preheating. The dough should be pretty thick.

White flour, no sifting, your hands, immediately and put it on a rack.

And as bad as you want to, don't cut it while hot. It's still got some cooking to do.

Best stuff ever!!

Good luck. The first one may not be perfect, but you will get there.

[fizzgig]

4. thank you

i think leaving it alone is going to be the hardest part of it.

learning to bake bread has been a goal of mine, i'm excited to get started.

[cbayer]

5. This recipe is the best thing to start with. I've been making it about once a week

for the past year or so, and it just gets better and better.

It is particularly good in cheese fondue, one of my most favorite foods ever. It has just the right mixture of really crunchy crust and soft insides.

You can freeze some of it, but if you want to eat it the next day, I find wrapping it in a cloth is the best way to keep it fresh for a day (maybe two). Once it begins to go stale, it makes great toast.

And your house will smell wonderful!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[maddezmom]

10. forgot to tell you the good news

I had a success baking the bread. However, didn't get to take a pic because Tommy stole it while it was cooling. Then Copper swiped it from him. They both seemed to enjoy it tho. Going to do start another one today and bake it tomorrow.

[cbayer]

12. Congratulations to you!!!

I knew you could do it. Now you just have to find a cooling place that the kids and critters can't get to.

[Lucinda]

6. We did extensive tests a while back and there are some great threads in the archives

But I agree that the recipe you have is a great one to start with.

Once you have done that one, we can find others you might want to try based upon what you did and did not like with this one.

Have fun!
Warning...it's sooo easy to do and sooo addictive!

[oneshooter]

7. What kind of a "Dutch Oven" are you using?

I do demos of Chuck Wagon cooking and have never seen a enameled Dutch. I have a stew pot that is enamel over cast iron, but I would not do bread in it.
?????????????????????????????????????????
Oneshooter

[fizzgig]

8. lodge

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Color-6-Quart-Dutch-Caribbean/dp/tags-on-product/B000N4WN08

paid $40 at my kroger affiliate, test driving it with a beef stew tonight.

[cbayer]

13. That's basically what I have. You may have to remove the little handle on the top.

They sell some metal ones, but I just take mine out when using for bread. It's plastic and I am afraid it might melt.

[fizzgig]

15. it's got a metal knob

[oneshooter]

14. I have one, that would properly be called a stewpot

No matter what Lodge says. A true "Dutch Oven" is used in conjuction with a open fire or charcoal. It has 3 legs and a flange on the lid. This flange is to hold the coals from the fire and the legs allows the bottom to sit above the coals that you remove from the fire. That way it cooks from both top and bottom.

I cook breads and cobblers in mine, and stews and soups in flat bottom, round top stew pots.
Sorry for the rant but the proper name of a tool is important to the convesation.

Oneshooter

[msanthrope]

18. I have that in red, and replaced the knob with the metal Le Creuset one....

I love that pot.

[fizzgig]

19. i made beef stew in it last night

i want to use it for EVERYTHING! now

[Lars39]

9. These wouldn't be used with charcoal...the dutch oven would be put in a regular oven.

[Ilsa]

20. One of the best rated Dutch ovens that is very affordable

Is by Tramontina. Le Cruizet is supposed the be the best, but they are usually $200-300 for a 6+quart size. The Tramontina is $50, and got it's high ranking by America's Test Kitchens.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. A couple of thoughts to add . . . .

. . . . apart from a warm "Good Luck!"

The dough could be really, really sticky. So sticky you won't think you can handle it.

Knead it as little as possible. No more than five or six turns where that recipe says to shape it.

Cooks Illustrated has a variation on this recipe that I think is even better (if that's possible). It was discussed in our old forum back on DU2, but I can't seem to find it. It was back in the 2008-9 time frame, I think. They use beer and parchment paper.

That's about it.

[fizzgig]

16. ooooh, i like cook's illustrated

i just bookmarked the recipe, i'm going to do some hunting in the archive tonight. thanks

[OffWithTheirHeads]

17. Well, if you are really interested in learning to make bread

May I suggest that you get yourself a copy of "The Bread Bakers Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart. This book is, in some folks minds, singlehandedly responsible for the "Artisan" bread making craze that has developed in the last several years. There are several websites started by devotees, groups who go through the book recipie by recipie and in my opinion, this book has done as much for the home breadmaker as the movie Julie and Julia did for JC booksales. At some point I'm going to have to break down and buy a new copy as the one I have now is literally falling apart from use. Also, there is a website called "The fresh loaf" that has a ton of useful info for bread makers from begining to professional. Actually, that website was where I learned about the book. Good luck. Your life is about to change.

[fizzgig]

27. i'm going to ask my sister if i can borrow her copy

and i'll definitely check out the link

[Inchworm]

21. I keep wanting to make a joke when I read the title

but realize I'm not in the Lounge

[Aerows]

23. LMAO. n/t

[fizzgig]

28. oh, you

[Aerows]

22. I WISH I knew how to make bread

I've been thinking about it, but I'm hardly the best thing when it comes to pastries. I don't know what the heck a dutch oven even is.

[maddezmom]

24. if I can make bread anyone can

here is a link to recipe but you have to follow all the instructions because the first 2x i did it, I forgot the lid when heating the dutch oven.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

Here is to the one I have but there are a ton out there and prices range quite a bit.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Color-6-Quart-Dutch-Island/dp/B000N501BK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326853810&sr=8-1

[Aerows]

25. Dumb question

When they say "instant yeast" what do they mean? I know about everything else, and I think they mean stuff like off the shelf Fleischmenn's Yeast, but I am unsure.

[maddezmom]

26. I used the rapid rise

[fizzgig]

29. thanks for mentioning the lid

sounds like something i'd forget