Artisan No Knead Dutch Oven Beer Bread Recipe

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Rise Time (I allow this overnight and bake after an additional brief rise in the morning)12

Total Time13 10

Servings: loaf

Calories: 1416kcal

Cost: $0.57 per loaf

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon yeast instant or rapid rise
¾ cups + 2 tablespoons water must be room temperature
6 tablespoons beer choose from lager, porter, stout, or other - have fun and experiment - read above in this post on the best kind of beer to use for beer bread
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
vegetable oil spray or baking spray; do not use olive oil spray as the burn point is too low for this bake

Instructions

Tear off a very large sheet of parchment paper, enough to comfortably line the entire interior of the Dutch oven. Crumple the paper and smooth it out. Crumple it again, and once again smooth it out. Lay the prepared parchment flat right next to the Dutch oven. Spray the parchment lightly with vegetable oil spray or baking spray.
In a very large mixing bowl combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Give everything a whisk to distribute. Sprinkle the distilled vinegar, beer, and water over the dry ingredients. Use a Danish dough whisk or the tines of a fork to mix the ingredients. A shaggy dough ball will form fairly quickly. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic film. Place somewhere free of drafts for at least 10 hours and up to 18 hours. NOTE: I use my oven for a 10-hour rise; heat off, door closed, oven light on. The tiny oven lamp produces enough warmth to aid the yeast during the rise. NOTE: if I am not ready to bake, or feel the dough requires additional time to rise, I have those additional 8 hours.
At the end of the long rise, the dough will not quite have doubled in size, and this is normal. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle with a light dusting of flour. Using your hands, knead the dough 2 to 4 times to create a folded-over square-ish shape, then round the dough into a boule (ball) by pulling edges into middle. Place dough seam-sides down in the center of the prepared parchment paper. Gather the corners of the parchment and lift and lower into the Dutch oven. Allow any excess parchment to hang over the pot edge. Cover loosely with plastic film and pop back into a cold oven to let rise for another 2 hours. Dough will double in size at this time and will easily spring back to the touch.
In preparation for the bake, remove the Dutch oven from your oven if that is where you were allowing it to rise. Set the oven rack to the middle position. Remove plastic film from dough. At this point, you may either lightly flour the surface of the boule or not. Notice in my photos I show it both ways. Use a clean razor blade or sharp knife to make an 'X' across the top of the dough about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inches deep. Cover the pot with its lid allowing excess parchment to hang out. Place into a cold oven. Set the oven to 425°F and IMMEDIATELY set the times for 30 minutes. Do not wait for the oven to come to temperature before starting the timer. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the Dutch oven lid and continue baking another 30 minutes longer. If you are unsure the bread is baked through, use an instant read thermometer to look for 210°F in the center of the boule. Use the parchment overhang to carefully remove the bread from the Dutch oven. Transfer to a wire cooling rack. Let cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. Bread slices best when allowed to cool completely, about 2 hours.

Notes

If you own an oval Dutch oven, shape your dough into an oblong and use a clean razor blade to cut 3 parallel lines into the dough about 1-inch apart and 1/2-inch to 3/4-inches deep just before baking in lieu of an 'X.'

Nutrition