Easy Crusty French Bread

Scale

FlourLoaves−500g+

Mix the dough & first rise

• Combine 11g Dry Yeast, 5g Sugar, and 375ml Luke Warm Water in a mixing bowl
• Leave for 5:00 – yeast bloom ℹ️Mixture should be foamy
• Add 500g All Purpose Flour. Mix until no dry flour remains ℹ️Mixer: dough hook on minimum for 1 minute
• Add 10g Salt. Mix until incorporated ℹ️Mixer: knead on speed 1 for 5-7 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Dough should remain sticky
• Cover with a tea towel
• Leave to rise for 60:00 – first rise

Shape the dough & second rise

• Lightly flour a surface
• Tip dough out onto surface
• Sprinkle a bit of flour across the top of the dough
• Pull one side of the dough away from the center and fold it in, rotate 90 degrees. Repeat ~12 times
• Flour a bowl and place dough into it seam-side up
• Cover with a tea towel
• Preheat oven to 240°C. Place an empty dutch oven (with lid on) in the oven
• Let rise another 30:00 – second rise

Bake

• Lay a piece of brown paper down on surface
• Tip your dough onto the brown paper seam-side up
• Place brown paper with dough into the hot dutch oven
• Place the lid back on dutch oven and put in oven
• Cook for 30:00 – bake with lid
• Remove lid. Continue cooking for 13:00 – bake without lid
• Place on cooling rack. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it