Easy Boule Bread Loaf

With fall—and soup season—just around the corner, I wanted to share this recipe for an easy Boule Loaf. My husband calls it, “artisan bread”. It is a great loaf to have in your arsenal when you want a good, crusty bread to go with soup or pasta. It is easy to put together and has a very reasonable rise time, so you can easily make it in the early afternoon and have it baked in time for dinner.

Serve with—

• Minestrone Soup
• Creamy Potato Soup
• Chicken breasts and Salad for an easy weeknight meal

Easy Boule Bread Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (approximately 110º F)
• Parchment paper
• Cast-iron Dutch Oven for baking

Directions

• Prepare all your ingredients at your workstation. Warm the bowl of your stand mixer by filling it with hot water; then, pour out the water and pat the bowl dry.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1 1/4 cups warm water and then add your yeast. Set it aside for about 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
• Add the flour and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer. Insert the dough hook and turn the mixer to 2 to mix the flour and salt. After about 30 seconds, slowly stream in the warm water/yeast mixture. Allow the mixer to knead the ingredients for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. The dough will begin to pull away from the bowl but still look wet.
• Remove the dough from the hook and place it back into the bowl. Dust the top of the dough with a bit of flour, and use a hand to turn and coat the dough in flour. Cover the bowl with a towel and set it aside to rise for 60 minutes.
  • NOTES:
    • The dough will be sticky. No need to form or additionally knead the dough at this point.
    • I, personally, like to let my dough rise in my oven set on the ‘warm’ setting. Your kitchen may be warm enough that you can leave the bowl on the counter, and it will rise well enough that way.
• After the first rise, uncover the bowl and gently pull the dough from the bowl onto a generously floured surface. With the dough in a rough round in front of you, pinch the top of the dough, stretch it away from you, then fold it into the center of the dough like you are folding an envelope. Give the dough a slight twist and do the same thing to the portion now at the top. Continue turning, stretching and folding the dough into the center for three to four full circles. After the final stretch and fold, flip the dough over, fold side down. Gently place both hands on each side of the round and gently curl your right palm around the right edge while using your left hand to rotate the round on the surface. This action will smooth the dough into a round mound.
• Wash out the mixing bowl and dry thoroughly. Then, generously flour the inside of the bowl and the top of the dough. Return the dough, seam side down, to the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 30 more minutes.
• While the dough is on the second rise, preheat the oven to 450º F. Set your Dutch Oven in the oven to preheat as well.
• When you are ready to bake—
  • Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on your counter and carefully invert the bread loaf onto the parchment. (Try not to deflate or disturb the shape too much.)
  • Using hot pads, open the oven, remove the lid of the Dutch Oven, and set it aside. Grab the sides of the parchment and lower the loaf into the Dutch Oven. Replace the lid. (It’s fine if the parchment sticks out under the lid.)
• Bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the lid and finish baking for 10 more minutes. Once the crust is a dark brown, remove from the oven and use the parchment paper to lift the loaf to a cooling rack. Let cool before slicing.