The bread recipe that will change your life

I’m a carb fan. I don’t know about you, but a perfectly warmed piece of slightly crusty bread that comes fresh out of the oven is a game changer for me. So when my Romanian BFF shared this homemade bread recipe with me, I had to try it immediately. Her husband loves this bread so much that she basically never buys fresh bread at the store anymore. I was sceptical at best at this brash statement, considering I’m married to a French man, who prides himself at knowing a good ‘pain’ when he sees it, but I have to say… I agree. This recipe is SO GOOD, and soooo simple. So cheers to the new year, and a fresh loaf!

Recipe Ingredients:

• 500 g AP flour

• 400 ml water (warm is best)

• 10 g salt

• 7 g instant yeast

Instructions:

• Mix together the above ingredients in a large bowl until it comes together in a dough

• Cover with plastic wrap tightly and let it hang for about 2 hours to raise, it should double in size

• Preheat oven to 400*F and place a medium sized dutch oven with the lid on in the middle rack while the oven preheats

• Once your dough has doubled in size and the oven is preheated, take your dough out of the bowl and plop it onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper (large enough to pop up above the edge of your dutch oven while baking), this just helps get the bread in and out of the piping hot pot without scorching your digits.

• Roll the dough into a happy blob suitably shaped for a bread loaf and score the top before dumping the parchment paper with the dough into the hot dutch oven.

• Bake with the lid on for 30 mins, then take the lid off for the remaining 20 mins to bake to golden perfection.

Et voilaaaa, a perfectly crispy golden loaf of gluten. Bon appetit!