Garlic and Herb Dutch Oven Bread

Try this Garlic & Herb Dutch Oven Bread recipe today, it’s highly versatile and can be paired as a side dish or paired with the main course for a meal.  

To start, preheat your oven to 450°.  

While your oven is preheating. Prepare your dough by combining flour, yeast, salt, pepper, herbs, garlic powder and fresh garlic in a bowl and stirring until the ingredients are well combined.

Remember to add water to the bowl while stirring as water helps keep the dough moist and acts as a solvent for gluten to form in the bread, helping the bread form its shape.  

Next, cover the dough with plastic wrap to keep the surface of the bread from drying out. Set aside and allow the bread to rise for an hour.

Time to prepare your Dutch oven by placing it in the oven to heat up first, so that when it is time to bake the bread, it cooks evenly in the Dutch oven.  

When your bread is done rising, place the dough on a floured surface and knead the bread 12 times to help develop the gluten, which gives the bread its texture and structure. Next, shape the dough into a bowl ball and place it on parchment paper.  

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and carefully place parchment paper and dough into the Dutch oven. Cover and bake the dough for thirty minutes and afterward, remove the lid, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. This process is important because covering the bread at the beginning of the baking process gives the bread a nice crust.  

This Garlic & Herb Dutch Oven is a simple and delicious bread recipe that you can enjoy on its own with your favorite spreads, or you can use it for a variety of recipes, such as with soups, sandwiches and more.    

Prep Time:  5 minutes (plus 1 hour to rise)   |    Cook Time:  40 minutes   |    Total Time:  45 minutes (plus 1 hour to rise)   |    Servings:  8

Ingredients:

• 3 cups  Baker's Corner  All Purpose Flour, plus additional for dusting
• 1 packet  Baker's Corner  Active Dry Yeast
• 1½ teaspoons ground  Stonemill  Sea Salt Grinder
• Pinch of ground  Stonemill  Peppercorn Grinder
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon  Stonemill  Garlic Powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ cups hot water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450°.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, pepper, herbs, garlic powder and fresh garlic. Stir to combine.
3. Add water to bowl and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, place  Crofton  Cast Iron 6 Qt. Dutch Oven in oven to heat.
5. After an hour rise time, place dough on floured surface and knead 12 times and shape into a ball. Set aside on a piece of parchment paper.
6. Remove  Crofton  Cast Iron 6 Qt. Dutch Oven from oven, carefully place parchment paper and dough into Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Audrey, ALDI Test Kitchen