My mom and aunt have been making this nonstop because it is SO good!! Super crunchy crust on the outside with a soft chewy center. We recommend using @bobsredmill artisan bread flour which you can find at most grocery stores or online. Thank you @merryboosters for this delicious recipe 😊❤️!
1. In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
2. Give it a good mix to make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed in the flour.
3. Add some lukewarm water and mix everything together to form a shaggy mass of dough.
4. Cover the dough with a plastic film and let them sit and rise in a warm environment for about 2 hours.
5. After 2 hours, transfer the proofed dough on to a floured work surface. As the dough is very sticky, dust the dough with some flour whenever needed. With the help of a bench scraper or with hands, pull and stretch the dough and fold it on to itself to form a tensive dough ball.
6. Transfer this onto a parchment lined bowl.
7. Cover the bowl with a greased plastic film. Let the dough sit and rise for 35 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.
8. Transfer the dough into a preheated dutch oven with lid on.
9. Bake at 450°F for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F, remove lid and bake for another 8-12 minutes. At this point the more you bake the more crispier the crust of the bread will be.
10. You will be rewarded with a bread which is golden brown with crunchy crust on top and soft and tender delicious crumb inside. Enjoy!
Note: If you are making bread on a regular baking tray, STEAM is the key factor for making crusty bread. We need to create a steamy environment while baking. Place a pan with hot water in the lowest rack of oven while baking and spraying with water inside the oven during the initial five minutes of baking to help create this steamy environment inside the oven.
