Artisan Bread From a Dutch Oven (Gluten Free)

I will give credit where credit is due.  I did not want to make this recipe.  In fact, I was pretty sure that even if I followed their instructions to the letter, it wasn't going to come out right.  During the whole process, which took every bit of 4-1/2 hours, it was doubtful that I was even going to have something edible. But when the moment of truth arrived, I had to admit I was wrong.  This was a very good loaf of bread! It was rustic and pretty.  It had a crunchy crust and a soft, fluffy interior.  It tasted delicious.  And it was made with a gluten-free baking flour.

It was never my intention to make a loaf of gluten-free bread.  I find the whole gluten-free movement ridiculous.  If you have celiac disease, a gastric gluten intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, or gluten ataxia (an adverse autoimmune system response), then, of course, you should not eat gluten - which by the way, only occurs naturally in wheat, rye and barley.  But in sum, only a very small segment of the US population experiences negative effects from consuming gluten. An estimated 2 million people suffer from celiac disease, for example, which represents only about one in 133 people. And yet, you see the food packaging moniker everywhere: "Gluten Free."

For the vast majority of us, consuming gluten poses no health risks at all and going gluten-free poses no real health benefits. Humans have been consuming gluten for as long as we've been baking bread, more than 14,000 years.  Wheat, rye and barley have provided people the world-over with carbohydrates, protein, soluble fiber and nutrients.  Whole wheat bread, in fact, is very good for you.

Food merchandising often displays "gluten-free" on packaging of food products that never did, nor ever would, contain gluten. I've seen it on packages of bacon and containers of dried blueberries. How absurd.  Indeed, gluten-free options will always be more expensive and as in this case, make for more work to achieve the same results than it would if you were using its gluten-rich counterpart.  A similar recipe for making a loaf of bread with regular wheat flour and baking it in a Dutch oven takes less than three hours, with two-thirds of that time simply waiting for the yeast to make the dough rise.

Having made my first ever attempt at baking bread with a loaf of Irish Soda Bread, the recipe for which can be found here, I was enthusiastic when I ran across a recipe for a rustic, yeasty bread meant to be baked in a Dutch oven, and wanted to give it a try.  But My Number One Fan inadvertently grabbed the wrong bread flour off the grocer's shelf and I was faced with a decision to either meet the challenge of using this gluten-free facsimile of bread flour or replacing it with the real McCoy.  I chose the former. The product is King Arthur Baking Company Gluten-Free Bread Flour.

The process of baking a loaf of bread with gluten-free flour is quite laborious and I will still attempt that recipe for a normal rustic loaf of bread that requires no kneading, and baked in a Dutch oven using a flour that contains simply wheat flour - not corn starch, psyllium fiber, sorghum flour, pea protein and xanthan gum, like this one does.  

But for now, this will serve as my second bread recipe, exemplifying my second-ever attempt at baking bread.

Four important notes on the process: (1) Have a kitchen thermometer handy to ensure your water is more or less at 100°F to properly activate the yeast.  Colder than that and the yeast stays asleep.  Much hotter than than that will kill the yeast and render it inert.  (2) Measure ingredients exactly; do not eyeball it.  Baking is more a science than an art, and there is no room for experimentation or improvisation. (3) You will need a cast iron Dutch oven for this recipe.  There is no substitute. (4) You will need parchment paper to finish the baking process.  There is no substitute for this, either.

Ingredients
For the Starter
3/4 cup lukewarm water (100°F)
1/2 tsp active yeast (like, Fleischmann's)
3/4 cup gluten-free flour (like, King Arthur Baking Company)

Ingredients
For the Dough
3/4 cup lukewarm water (100°F)
1/2 tsp active yeast (like, Fleischmann's)
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt (or any fine-grind salt without iodine)
1-3/4 cups gluten-free flour (like, King Arthur Baking Company)
2 tbsp more of gluten-free or regular all-purpose flour
the Starter from above
2 tbsp olive oil

The Recipe
Mix the Starter ingredients in a mixing bowl with a metal or plastic mixing spoon (not wooden). Some lumps are okay. Cover with cling wrap and allow the dough to sit for at least 2 hours. If your kitchen is chilly, warm your oven to 100°F, then turn it off and allow the dough to sit there.

Next, combine the Dough ingredients in another mixing bowl, then add the Starter and mix again.  Some lumps are okay.  Cover with cling wrap and allow the dough to sit for 20 minutes.

Lay out a large sheet of aluminum foil (or, better yet, use Reynolds non-stick aluminum foil) on your kitchen countertop. Spread the olive oil over the surface of the foil with your hands (you want your fingers oiled, too), and roll out the dough onto the foil.  Fold and press the dough over on itself six times. Cover and allow it to sit for 40 minutes.

Lay out another sheet of aluminum foil on your kitchen countertop and sprinkle it with a couple tablespoons of flour.  Since I have no aversion to gluten, I used all-purpose flour.  With floured hands, transfer the dough to this sheet.

Press the heels of your hand into the dough and push forward. Fold the dough in half and push the heel of your hand to press the dough flat.  Turn the dough slightly and fold it in half.  Then, do this again five more times.  This is the process known as kneading. Shape the dough into a round.

Transfer the round dough to a floured bowl, preferably wooden.  Or it you have it, use a round brotform bowl, which is used in baking to shape rising dough. I don't have one of these and just used a large wooden salad bowl.

Cover the dough with cling wrap and allow it to sit 45 minutes.

In the meantime, place your Dutch oven without the lid in your oven, and preheat to 450°F.

Flip the dough out of the bowl onto a large sheet of parchment paper.  Using a sharp knife, slit the top of the dough into a cross.

Pull the Dutch oven out of the oven and put the parchment paper containing the dough into it.  Cap it with the lid and return it to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue baking the bread for another 10-20 minutes until you've reached the desired golden baked bread color.

Allow the bread to cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes before slicing and enjoying with a pat of butter.