Dutch Oven Bread

This bread is extremely easy for anybody to make at home or even in an open fire at the camping ground. The structure of this bread is similar to sourdough bread with big uneven holes through the bread.

Ingredients

¼ tsp instant dry yeast
1½ cups lukewarm water (375ml)
3 cups plain flour (480g)

1½ tsp salt

Method

Place water and yeast in a large bowl. Blend flour and salt in and stir flour until combined. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let the dough rest for 12 to 14 hours at room temperature approx 20ºC. Dust the flour on the kitchen table and work the sticky dough with flour into a round ball. Place the ball on a tea towel with plenty of flour or bran and fold the towel over to enclose the dough so it is covered. Use as much flour you want for this step. Allow resting for 2 hours. Place a 3 liter Dutch oven in the normal oven and heat to 225ºC minutes 20 minutes before the dough is ready. As soon as the dough is ready remove the Dutch oven from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough upside down in the pot. Place the warm lid on top and bake for 30 minute. Remove the lid and cook a further 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the pot and allow cooling on a wire rack for 60 minutes before slicing.

Note: I have also made this bread in a round cake tin covered with a lid. For this bread I put the dough in the tin with plenty of flour instead of leaving it on the tea towel and it only need 15 minutes baking without the lid.