Caramelized Onion Bread
By America's Test KitchenPublished on January 27, 2022
Time
3½ hours, plus 12½ hours rising, resting, and cooling
Yield
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
Sponge
⅔ cup (3⅔ ounces/104 grams) bread flour ½ cup water, room temperature⅛ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeastDough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 cups finely chopped onions 2 garlic cloves, mincedDough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 cups finely chopped onions 2 garlic cloves, minced2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried2 teaspoons packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons table salt, divided¼ teaspoon pepper 2⅓ cups (12¾ ounces/361 grams) bread flour 1¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature2 disposable aluminum pie platesBefore You Begin
You can use white or red onions, but the flavor will be different. Vidalia onions have a high water content and will make the dough too wet. If you own a round banneton, you may use that instead of a towel-lined colander; either way, enclosing the proofing dough in a plastic garbage bag protects it from forming a tough skin. If you don't have a baking peel, use a rimless or overturned baking sheet to slide the bread onto the baking stone. If you don't have a baking stone or steel, you can use a preheated rimless or overturned baking sheet; however, the crust will be less crisp. This recipe uses lava rocks to achieve a bakery-style loaf. For the best texture and height, we don't recommend omitting them.
Instructions
- Stir flour, room-temperature water, and yeast in 4-cup liquid measuring cup with wooden spoon until well combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until sponge has risen and begins to collapse, about 6 hours (sponge can sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours).
- Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Stir in onions, garlic, thyme, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and have released their juice, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring often, until juice evaporates and onions are deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to bowl and let cool completely before using.
- Whisk flour and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Stir room-temperature water and half of onion mixture into sponge with wooden spoon until well combined. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add sponge mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Add remaining 1½ teaspoons salt to dough and knead on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; slowly add remaining onion mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; and mix until mostly incorporated, about 1 minute. Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic, and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Using greased bowl scraper (or your fingertips), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 45 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding and rising. Fold dough again, then cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rise until nearly doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1¼ hours.
- Mist underside of large linen or cotton tea towel with water. Line 5-quart colander with prepared towel and dust evenly with flour. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be against counter). Press and stretch dough into 10-inch round, deflating any gas pockets larger than 1 inch. Working around circumference of dough, fold edges toward center until ball forms. Flip dough ball seam side down and, using your cupped hands, drag in small circles on counter until dough feels taut and round and all seams are secured on underside of loaf.
- Place loaf seam side up in prepared colander and pinch any remaining seams closed. Loosely fold edges of towel over loaf to enclose, then place colander in large plastic garbage bag. Tie, or fold under, open end of bag to fully enclose. Let rise until loaf increases in size by about half and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1½ hours (remove loaf from bag to test).
- One hour before baking, adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest positions. Place baking stone or steel on upper rack, place disposable pie plates filled with 1 quart lava rocks each on lower rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Bring 1 cup water to boil. Remove colander from bag, unfold edges of towel, and dust top of loaf with flour. (If any seams have reopened, pinch closed before dusting with flour.) Lay 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper on top of loaf. Using 1 hand to support parchment and loaf, invert loaf onto parchment and place on counter. Gently remove colander and towel. Transfer parchment with loaf to baking peel.
- Carefully pour ½ cup boiling water into 1 disposable pie plate of preheated rocks and close oven door for 1 minute to create steam. Using sharp paring knife or single-edge razor blade, make two 7-inch-long, ½-inch-deep slashes with swift, fluid motion along top of loaf to form cross.
- Working quickly, slide parchment with loaf onto baking stone and pour remaining ½ cup boiling water into second disposable pie plate of preheated rocks. Bake until crust is dark brown and loaf registers 205 to 210 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating loaf halfway through baking. Transfer loaf to wire rack; discard parchment; and let cool completely, about 3 hours, before serving.
for the sponge
for the dough
Time
3½ hours, plus 12½ hours rising, resting, and coolingYield
Makes 1 loafIngredients
Sponge
⅔ cup (3⅔ ounces/104 grams) bread flour
½ cup water, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
Dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons table salt, divided
¼ teaspoon pepper
2⅓ cups (12¾ ounces/361 grams) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
2 disposable aluminum pie plates
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Sponge
⅔ cup (3⅔ ounces/104 grams) bread flour
½ cup water, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
Dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons table salt, divided
¼ teaspoon pepper
2⅓ cups (12¾ ounces/361 grams) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
2 disposable aluminum pie plates
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Sponge
⅔ cup (3⅔ ounces/104 grams) bread flour
½ cup water, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
Dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons table salt, divided
¼ teaspoon pepper
2⅓ cups (12¾ ounces/361 grams) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
2 disposable aluminum pie plates
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
You'll start by making a sponge, which is simply a mixture of a portion of the dough's flour, water, and yeast that ferments for around 6 hours to develop more complex flavor; it then gets mixed into the rest of the dough ingredients. You'll load a whopping 3 cups of onions into this bread, first cooking them down with brown sugar, garlic, and thyme to a deep golden brown. Finely chopped onions work best—larger pieces will leave you with soggy pockets of uncooked dough surrounding the onions. A two-pronged approach to incorporating the onions ensures that their flavor permeates every bite: First, mix half of them with the wet ingredients at the beginning of mixing, where they'll break down during kneading. Second, add the remaining half at the end of kneading to provide great textural contrast. Yellow onions offer a good flavor and a firm texture.
Before You Begin
You can use white or red onions, but the flavor will be different. Vidalia onions have a high water content and will make the dough too wet. If you own a round banneton, you may use that instead of a towel-lined colander; either way, enclosing the proofing dough in a plastic garbage bag protects it from forming a tough skin. If you don't have a baking peel, use a rimless or overturned baking sheet to slide the bread onto the baking stone. If you don't have a baking stone or steel, you can use a preheated rimless or overturned baking sheet; however, the crust will be less crisp. This recipe uses lava rocks to achieve a bakery-style loaf. For the best texture and height, we don't recommend omitting them.
Instructions
- Stir flour, room-temperature water, and yeast in 4-cup liquid measuring cup with wooden spoon until well combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until sponge has risen and begins to collapse, about 6 hours (sponge can sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours).
- Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Stir in onions, garlic, thyme, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and have released their juice, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring often, until juice evaporates and onions are deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to bowl and let cool completely before using.
- Whisk flour and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Stir room-temperature water and half of onion mixture into sponge with wooden spoon until well combined. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add sponge mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Add remaining 1½ teaspoons salt to dough and knead on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; slowly add remaining onion mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; and mix until mostly incorporated, about 1 minute. Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic, and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Using greased bowl scraper (or your fingertips), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 45 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding and rising. Fold dough again, then cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rise until nearly doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1¼ hours.
- Mist underside of large linen or cotton tea towel with water. Line 5-quart colander with prepared towel and dust evenly with flour. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be against counter). Press and stretch dough into 10-inch round, deflating any gas pockets larger than 1 inch. Working around circumference of dough, fold edges toward center until ball forms. Flip dough ball seam side down and, using your cupped hands, drag in small circles on counter until dough feels taut and round and all seams are secured on underside of loaf.
- Place loaf seam side up in prepared colander and pinch any remaining seams closed. Loosely fold edges of towel over loaf to enclose, then place colander in large plastic garbage bag. Tie, or fold under, open end of bag to fully enclose. Let rise until loaf increases in size by about half and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1½ hours (remove loaf from bag to test).
- One hour before baking, adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest positions. Place baking stone or steel on upper rack, place disposable pie plates filled with 1 quart lava rocks each on lower rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Bring 1 cup water to boil. Remove colander from bag, unfold edges of towel, and dust top of loaf with flour. (If any seams have reopened, pinch closed before dusting with flour.) Lay 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper on top of loaf. Using 1 hand to support parchment and loaf, invert loaf onto parchment and place on counter. Gently remove colander and towel. Transfer parchment with loaf to baking peel.
- Carefully pour ½ cup boiling water into 1 disposable pie plate of preheated rocks and close oven door for 1 minute to create steam. Using sharp paring knife or single-edge razor blade, make two 7-inch-long, ½-inch-deep slashes with swift, fluid motion along top of loaf to form cross.
- Working quickly, slide parchment with loaf onto baking stone and pour remaining ½ cup boiling water into second disposable pie plate of preheated rocks. Bake until crust is dark brown and loaf registers 205 to 210 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating loaf halfway through baking. Transfer loaf to wire rack; discard parchment; and let cool completely, about 3 hours, before serving.
for the sponge
for the dough
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