Here’s a savory and flavorful bread recipe, based on one from Food & Wine.
The bread, as made, finishes with a perfectly crusty exterior and an aromatic and enormously delicious interior.
Please note that there’s a minimum of 8 hours of downtime as the bread ‘kneads” in the refrigerator. You’ll also need a medium (4.5 quart) Dutch oven with a heatproof cover and parchment paper.
What you’ll need
- 1 head (or equivalent) of roasted garlic*
- 1T olive oil
- 12.75 ounces (3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1T chopped fresh rosemary
- 1t fine sea salt
- 1t instant yeast
- 1.33 cups warm water (105°F – 110°F)
- 3 oz. Parmesan cheese, coarsely shredded, divided
- 1T plain yellow cornmeal
What to do
Whisk together the flour, rosemary, salt, and yeast in a large bowl until well combined. Add the warm water and stir until well combined. Sprinkle the dough with a half-cup of the Parmesan before breaking up the roasted garlic cloves and adding them to the Parmesan topping. Thoroughly stir in the Parmesan and garlic until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and put it in the warmest part of your kitchen for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size. After that hour, put the covered bowl in the refrigerator for 8 – 24 hours.
When you’re ready to start baking, crumple a large sheet of parchment paper into a ball, then unfold it and sprinkle a 10-inch circle of cornmeal in the center—set it aside.
Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and lightly flour the top. Gently shape the dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Flour your hands, and working clockwise, gently fold the dough edges up toward the center, repeating around the circumference until the dough is formed into a roughly rounded shape.
Flip the dough over, seam side down, onto the center of the prepared parchment paper. Place the parchment and dough into a medium bowl, covering it in plastic wrap. Let it rise in the warmest part of your kitchen for an hour.
Thirty minutes before the dough-rise hour is up, place a medium-size Dutch oven with its heatproof cover in place into a cold oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
When the oven is ready, quickly and carefully remove the Dutch oven lid and lower the dough and parchment paper into the Dutch oven. Re-cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the loaf registers 200° F—10 – 15 minutes.
Transfer the finished bread to a wire rack using the parchment paper, then discard the paper. Let it cool for 30 minutes before serving.
*To roast a head of garlic, heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Without removing the papery outside of the head, cut off the top third of the head and place the head on the center of a 7” x 7” piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the head and tightly wrap it in the foil, trapping the oil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 – 45 minutes until softened. Carefully unwrap it to cool and use.
