Best Artisan Boule Bread Recipes

ARTISAN BOULE BREAD

Steps:

• Mixing and Storing the Dough:.
• Note: If measuring flour rather than weighing, don't press down into the flour as you scoop it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, By gently scooping up flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula.you willl get a more accurate measurement.
• In large plastic storage container (with lid) mix together the flour, yeast and salt.
• Add all the liquid at once and mix with a wooden spoon.
• If mixing becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, reach into the mixing bowl with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Note: kneading isn't necessary.
• When everything is uniformly moist without dry patches your mixing is complete. This should take only a few minutes.
• The dough will be wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.
• Cover with a lid (not airtight) that fits well on the container. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, or at least flattens on the top, about 2 hours, depending on the room's temperature and the initial water temperature. Longer rising times, up to about 5 hours, will not harm the result.
• You can use a portion of the dough anytime after this period. Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temperature. So the first time you try this method, it's best to refrigerate the dough overnight, or at least 3 hours, before shaping a loaf.
• The breads flavor improves with the retardation, so suggest you wait at least 24 hours before baking the first loaf! Dough may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
• To bake Boule (Round Loaf):.
• First, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the loaf from sticking (or use parchment paper).
• With wet hands, pull up one end of the refrigerated dough. Using a serrated knife, cut off a 1-pound, or grapefruit-size, piece of dough. Hold the mass of dough in your hands; if it sticks, add a little flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hand. Gently stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but they will flatten out during resting and baking. The dough ball should be smooth and cohesive and take no more than 30 to 60 seconds to shape.
• Now it's decision time, which method to use for baking.
• COVERED POT METHOD:.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 60 - 90 minutes.
• About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough.
• Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid.
• Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge).
• Cover pot and place in oven.
• Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 20 minutes.
• Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 200 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
• Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• BAKING ON GRILL:.
• First make a 'pillow' of aluminum foil and place in the bottom of the pot. This prevent the bottom from burning. To assure that the bottom does not burn, I also place the pot on a heat diffuser. Preheat the grill and pan to 450 degrees . . . from here follow the oven directions above.
• BAKING ON STONE::.
• Place the shaped ball on the prepared pizza peel (or parchment paper), cover and allow to rest 60 - 90 minutes.
• Place a baking stone on the lowest rack of the oven.
• Place an empty broiler tray (I use my cast-iron skillet) on an oven shelf, making sure it will not interfere with the rising bread as it bakes.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees 20 minutes before baking.
• Spray top of dough with cold water (which allows a knife to slash through the dough without sticking). Use a serrated bread knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern onto the top.
• Slide the loaf off the pizza peel onto the preheated baking stone using a quick, forward jerking motion. If using parchment just lift off peel and place on stone.
• Pour 1 cup hot water into the broiler tray and close oven door to trap steam.
• Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped.
• The loaf will crackle, or "sing," when initially exposed to room-temperature air.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack for best flavor, texture and easy slicing.
• Store remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded container and use during the next 10 days.
• Additional ideas on how to use this recipe:.
• Pita Bread: Recipe #310219.
• Lavash: Recipe #310451.
• Flatbread: Recipe #TBA.

HEALTHY GLUTEN-FREE ARTISAN BREAD -- FREE-FORM CRUSTY BOULE

Steps:

• MIXING AND STORING THE DOUGH:.
• Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt and xanthan gum in a 5-quart lidded Round Food Storage Container or the mixing bowl of your stand mixer (a metal mixing bowl should be fine as long as it is stainless steel).
• Combine the oil, honey and water; set aside.
• Dump the eggs into the dry ingredients and then stir while you pour in about 1/3 of the oil and water. (Unlike wheat doughs, we do not add all of the liquid at once and stir. If you do that it will result in a lumpy dough).
• Continue to stir while you pour in another 1/3 of the liquid; the dough will start to come together in a thick dough. NOTE: You can use your mixer for these steps with your bread hook rather than stirring the dough ingredients together.
• Add the final 1/3 of liquid and stir until the dough is nice and smooth. Cover container with the lid, but do not snap it shut. Allow it to rest on the counter for about 2 hours.
• Place the dough in the refrigerator and store for up to 7 days.
• NOTE: If you want to bake a loaf immediately after the initial proving you can bake it the first day, but you need to reduce the resting time before hand. In fact, you can mix the dough, shape it and let it rest on the parchment. After it has risen then slide it directly into the oven.
• BAKING DAY:
• On baking day take the bucket from the refrigerator. The dough will be quite fluffy still and you do not want to handle the dough too much. Just like our other doughs the trick is to keep as much of the air bubbles intact as possible.
• Use WET HANDS to remove a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough from the bucket. In order to not handle the dough too much you can even scoop it out of the bucket with a slightly wet metal spoon.
• The dough will be quite scraggly when you take it out, just place it on a piece of parchment paper.
• Use wet hands to smooth out the surface of the dough and shape it as desired. DO NOT KNEAD. This may take dipping your hands in the water a few times...to get a nice shape. Gently smooth it out with wet hands into the shape you want.
• Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest on the counter for about 90 minutes. If your kitchen is very warm you may only need about 75 minutes.
• The dough will not have grown much while resting, but it will seem a little bit puffier. Use a serrated knife to cut slashes in the dough.
• BAKING OPTIONS:.
• STONE OR COOKIE SHEET OPTION: If you want to bake using a baking stone, you can OR you can use a cookie sheet.
• Preheat oven to 450°F
• Place parchment paper with your prepared dough on prepared stone or baking sheet.
• Place a pan (not glass) under the baking stone or sheet (at least 4 inches away) and add a cup of hot water to it when you put the loaf in the oven to create steam.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.
• DUTCH OVEN OPTION: Preheat the oven with a 5 1/2 quart Dutch Oven in it to 500 degrees 30 minutes before baking time. (Be sure it is fitted with a metal Replacement Knob, the original plastic knobs can only be heated to about 400 degrees.)
• Remove the pot from the oven and take off the lid.
• Lift the bread on the parchment and VERY CAREFULLY lower the parchment and bread into the pot, replace the lid onto the pot.
• Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes remove the lid, turn the heat down to 450F and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
• COOL THE BREAD:
• Once the bread is done baking remove it from the pot using a spatula or from the stone/sheet and transfer to a baking rack to cool.
• ALLOW THE BREAD TO COOL COMPLETELY before eating or the center may seem gummy.
• The loaf is also wonderful toasted and served with butter and marmalade. Enjoy!