Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 4 hours, 20 minutes
Makes: One or Two loaves
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 heaping Tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
1 1/2 cups hot water (up to 130° F from tap)
Instructions: ( Read all of this before starting! )
1). Combine flours and salt in a large bowl. If you are using instant yeast, add it also. If using Active dry yeast, put the yeast into your hot water for 5 minutes or so, then stir the yeast & water into the flour until it’s well combined.
2). Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 3 hours. You can also just cover it with a plate.
3). After 3 hours, place dough on a well-floured surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Fold dough over 5 or 6 times times & shape into a rough ball. You don’t have to knead it!
4). Place rounded dough in a parchment paper-lined bowl (not wax paper) and cover bowl with a towel/plate. Do not use oil spray or butter! Let stand on counter top for 35 minutes.
5). Meantime, place a **3 to 6-quart Dutch oven with lid (I used an old slow cooker liner and lid. Make sure whatever you use doesn’t have any plastic on it!) into a cold oven on the bottom rack, and preheat to 450° F on Bake. It may take 25 mins to come up to temperature. **If you want smaller loaves, you can also cut the dough into two pieces, and use two loaf pans covered with a double layer of aluminum foil to act as your dutch oven. If you do this, you’ll have to perhaps bake for an extra 10 minutes.
6). Once the dough has been sitting for 35 minutes, using oven gloves, lift the parchment paper and dough from the bowl and place carefully into the VERY hot dutch oven or pan (parchment paper goes in the pan too). Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
7). After 30 minutes, remove lid and slide the parchment paper out. Return the bread into the pan or dutch oven, and bake for 10 more minutes without the cover on it. (This step removes some of the moisture in the loaf from it being baked in it’s own steam in the dutch oven/pan).
8.) When loaf is browned, and has a hollow sound when you tap it, it’s done!
9.) Put on cooling rack and enjoy!
Overnight Method: use 1/4 tsp. yeast, switch to COOL water and let the dough rest overnight on the counter top for 8 to 24 hours).