Relish recipe: Bread in a Staub Pot

Is there anything better than a freshly baked loaf of bread? Maybe but it is one of our favorite things. It is especially heartening in the colder winter months. Relish Decor would like to share one of our favorite recipes for delicious bread with you. All you need are some basic ingredients and your Staub Cocotte. Get ready to slather on jam or jelly; buy that expensive butter; pick out the perfect stew recipe to go with it because your taste buds are about to get really happy.

Ingredients:

17 ½ ounces bread flour, plus extra for shaping

¼ teaspoon active-dry yeast

2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

12 ounces filtered water (yes, filtered!)

2 tablespoons cornmeal

Steps:

Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and stir until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 19 hours.

After 19 hours, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough and turn it over onto itself a couple of times. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, shape the dough into a ball. Coat hands with flour, if needed, to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the tea towel with half of the cornmeal and lay the dough on top of it, with the seam side down. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the other half of the cornmeal and cover with the towel. Allow to rise for another 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Oven baking: While the dough is rising the second time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven in the oven while it preheats. Once the dough is ready, carefully transfer it to the pre-heated Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 210 to 212 degrees F, another 15 minutes. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

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