My diet consists of bread and cheese, and sweet confections. I know, I know it is so hard to believe. There is nothing quite like a delicious, warm, snappy crusted piece of bread and some salty butter to put a smile on your face. We have had a lot of showers here in New York this spring so I used those days to create my new obsession: Lemon Thyme Boule. It goes well with ricotta, pea puree, honey, and of course butter! It is a no muss, no fuss bread that will make you do a dance of joy when it comes out of the oven.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
3 Cups All Purpose Flour - Do not substitute bread flour for this recipe.
1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 1/2 tsp Fine Kosher Salt
1 3/4 Cup of Warm Water
2-3 Tbsp Thyme roughly chopped
1 Tbsp Zest of One Lemon
1 Tbsp Zest of One Lemon
1 Tbsp Kosher Course Kosher Salt
Active Prep Time: 10 minutes
In Active Prep Time: 15 Hours - don't freak out it is no muss, no fuss
Servings: 10-12 Pieces
Directions:
Put the flour, yeast, fine kosher salt, thyme, and lemon zest in the bowl of a mixer. Turn the mixer on low, using the dough hook attachment, and stream in one cup of warm water (approx 110 degrees). Watch how the bread dough comes together. If there are still section so flour at the bottom, add a little more water. Keep adding the water a few tablespoons as a time until the dough comes together in one ball. ***If the dough is too wet sprinkle a little bit of flour over it and work it through the dough until it feels wet, but not sticky. Allow the dough hook to knead the dough for about 3 minutes
Shape the dough into a circular dome and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and leave in a dry, warm place for 12-24 hours - or until the dough has risen twice the size and it is bubbling.
*** I like to make my bread dough at night, and bake it when I wake up in the morning.
When the dough is bubbly and ready to go, flour a clean, dry surface and shape the dough into a round ball. Cover with a dish towel, or loosely with more plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours.
An hour and a half into the resting/proofing round 2, preheat your oven with your dutch oven inside at 425 for 30 minutes. At the end of the thirty minutes, carefully place the bread dough into the dutch oven. Take a serrated knife and score the top of the dough to make slits for the steam to release. Sprinkle some water (very little to create steam) over the top of the bread and cover with the top of the dutch oven, or tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake the bread for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove the cover/aluminum foil, and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown, and when you knock on the bottom it sounds hollow.
Take the boule out of the dutch oven and set on a cooling rack to cool for 45 minutes before serving warm!
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