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Four Ingredient Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (bread or plain/all purpose)
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp cooking/kosher salt, NOT table salt (I use fine sea salt)
• 1 1/2 cups very warm tap water, NOT boiling or super hot (up to 130°F)
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour, for dusting dough while shaping

Steps

1. Mix Dough: Mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the four is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for right consistency.
2. Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly. If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer.
3. Preheat oven – Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (10 inch or larger). Preheat to 450°F 30 minutes prior to baking.
4. Shape dough: Sprinkle a sheet of foil (for use as a work surface) with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp flour. Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – it’s more about defating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move. What’s on top will become the bottom of the bread.
5. Dough in pot: Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Carefully use foil to place/fip dough into pot, place lid on. Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy. Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

• Optional: sprinkle corn meal into dutch oven right before adding dough. Corn meal will stick to the bottom of the loaf and add a little texture.
• This basic loaf can be embellished with caraway seeds, poppy seeds, etc during the mixing step.