This crusty, rustic bread is made in a cloche which gives it a European style texture and crust. It's incredibly easy to do, even for a beginning bread baker, and will take you just under two hours start to finish. If you've never used a ceramic cloche for bread making you are in for a real treat!
Add the yeast and the sugar to ¼ cup of the water in a large mixing bowl and stir until blended.
Set aside until foamy - about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the remaining water to the yeast mixture.
Stir in 1 cup of the bread flour and the gluten.
Stir in the salt.
Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl - you may need a little more flour or you may not need all of the flour.
Knead with Mixer
Knead in your mixer according to manufacturer's instructions.
Knead by Hand
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until the dough is firm and elastic. It should feel like your earlobe when you pinch it.
Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean, damp cloth (or plastic wrap), and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until it's doubled.
In a Cloche
Gently deflate the dough and knead lightly.
Sprinkle flour on the bottom of the cloche.
Form the dough into a ball and place on the floured bottom of the cloche.
Cover with the cloche top and let rise 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Dust with flour and score with a sharp knife, razor blade, or baker's blade (lame).
Cover with the cloche top and bake for 35 minutes.
Cool the bread, uncovered.
In a Dutch Oven
Follow instructions but let the dough rise the 2nd time on a piece of parchment paper.
Preheat the dutch oven about 15 minutes before using.
Spray with no-stick spray.
Sprinkle in a coating of cornmeal.
Gently flip the dough off the parchment and into the dutch oven.
Cover and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove cover and bake 5 more minutes to crisp the crust.
Remove from dutch oven and let cool.
Notes
Homemade bread doesn't keep very long. If you won't finish it in about 24 hours plan on slicing it and freezing it.Using a cloche -
Before using it the first time rinse with plain water and dry.
Never use soap on your cloche - let cool, rinse with plain water, and let air dry.
Dust the bottom of the cloche well with flour to help keep the bread from sticking.
Put the rack in the bottom third of the oven before you preheat it.
For a thick, crunchy crust take the top off the cloche for the last 10 minutes of baking.
VariationsI always suggest making any recipe strictly by the instructions until you are satisfied with the results and then start experimenting.Some of the variations on this recipe that I love are -
Use part whole wheat flour
Use 1 cup of rye flour for 1 cup of the bread flour
Substitute 1 cup of old fashioned oats for 1 cup of the bread flour