Cocotte for baking bread, a fantasy
I've always struggled to get a good crust on my bread, using nothing but my baking stone. I have occasionally baked in my 24cm Cocotte—the one I use for stews—with very good results.
Ingredients · Servings 4
- 500g of strong or bread flour
- 320 g of water
- 10 g of fresh yeast or 3.3 g of dried baker's yeast. Baking powder is not suitable.
- 10 g of salt
Method · 3 h 25 min
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix them with your hands as best you can. Let the dough rest for half an hour, covered with a cloth.
- Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead the dough as best you can—there are many videos on YouTube that will show you kneading techniques. In just a few minutes, you'll see how it becomes a smooth, easy-to-work dough. You can see my daughter doing it easily in the "Highlights" on my Instagram profile. Form it into a ball.
- Grease a clean bowl and place the ball in it. Cover it again. Let it rest for 1 hour.
- Place the dough on the counter, flatten it slightly, gather the ends as best you can, seal it again by forming a ball, and place it on the base of the Cocotte. Let it rest for about 45 minutes, covered with a cloth.
- Preheat the oven to 250ºC, top and bottom heat, no fan, and place a wire rack tray in the oven.
- Just before putting it in the oven, make a cross-shaped cut with a cutter or a blade, however you can.
- Place the Cocotte lid over the bread and bake for 60 minutes at 240ºC. If you want to check on it, don't open the Cocotte until the 45th minute, so that it doesn't lose the steam generated during baking, which is necessary for that amazing crust you'll get.
