Rustic Bread

The total preparation of this bread takes around 4 hours; the flour I use here is a flour called strong flour, so if you are in Brazil I believe tipo 1 flour (Renata) should work.

Ingredients

• 250g wheat flour (tipo 1 flour in Brazil / strong flour in Europe / bread flour in the USA)
• 7g biological (dried) yeast
• 130-140ml warm water (3/4 cup)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 round, deep ovenproof dish with a lid (examples below)
• A baking tray, which should be left inside the oven while it preheats

Method

1. Mix the water, sugar, olive oil and yeast together and set aside
2. In a bowl, mix the flour with the salt

3. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the yeast and liquid mixture
4. Mix with a wooden spoon from the centre outwards until a dough forms
5. Knead this dough for 5-10 minutes until you get a smooth dough; if you prefer, use a stand mixer with the dough hook for 5 minutes or until you get a smooth, soft dough
6. Leave it to rise inside a switched-off oven, in a bowl greased with olive oil, covered with cling film for at least 40 minutes or until the dough doubles in size

7. After the rise, preheat the oven to 180C, place the baking tray on the bottom of the oven and then start preparing the bread for baking
8. On a floured worktop, shape the dough into a ball, moving your hands in circles so that the edges are “pushed” underneath the ball being formed (see the video)
9. Carefully place the dough in the ovenproof dish and, with a very sharp knife or a razor blade, make cuts in the top of the bread, put the lid on and bake for about 20 minutes
10. Prepare about 1 litre of hot water and set aside
11. You will notice the bread rising and getting close to the lid (it may even touch it depending on the size); at this point, using a tea towel, carefully remove the lid (IT IS HOT!)
12. Again carefully, pour the hot water into the baking tray you left in the oven and close it immediately. This will create steam inside the oven and will form the crisp crust on the bread
13. Bake for a further 20-30 minutes or so, or until the bread is golden in colour — I normally know the bread is close to being ready when I can smell freshly baked bread around the house!

For a step-by-step video, see the Instagram highlight AT THIS LINK.