Well, relatively easy. I've got some dough rising, not exactly the formula below, but I'm going to try this cooking method just to see what I get.

From America's Test Kitchen program on PBS. They say the ratio of flour to water is important and you should weigh the ingredients. The reason this works without so much kneading is that it has a higher amount of water and a longer resting period to help form the gluten. If you follow this technique, the crust will be brown and crisp.

3 cups all-purpose flour (15 oz)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon yeast (yes, this tiny bit)
7 oz water
3 oz beer (Budweiser, nothing fancy)
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until evenly incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours. Flour your counter top or bread board. Turn the dough out onto it and knead it about 10 or 15 times. To shape, turn rough side up, fold in edges and rotate the dough on the counter. Line a skillet with a parchment paper sling and spray with cooking spray. Place the dough on it, spray with cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap and let rise 2 hours, until nearly double in size.

Preheat a covered cast iron Dutch oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Cut a slash in the top of the loaf, about 6 inches long, 1/2 inch deep. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Place the dough on the paper in the pan and put the lid back on. Turn oven down to 425 degrees and bake 30 minutes with the lid on, remove the lid and bake 20 to 30 minutes more. (210 degrees in the center) Remove the bread from the pan to a rack and let cool for at least 2 hours.


Last summer my goal was to figure out how to make artisan bread, the kind with the chewy crust, some big holes in the crumb, and a nice flavor. I decided I needed to make it as a sour dough so I made my own starter and it took days and days to get it going. The bread from this was very very chewy, and Mr. Kitchentales claimed he really liked it, but I would never serve it to anyone else because it required considerable gnawing to get through a slice of it. I am hoping the above method is going to yield a result closer to what I want without the extreme chewiness.