Cast Iron Rustic Italian Loaf
By Sara MayerPublished on July 13, 2017
Time
1¼ hours, plus 2 hours rising, and 2 hours cooling
Yield
Serves 10 to 12 (makes 1 loaf)
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer to use a mild American lager, such as Budweiser, here; strongly flavored beers will make this bread bitter.
Instructions
- Microwave beer, water, and oil in 2-cup liquid measuring cup, stirring occasionally, until mixture registers 110 degrees, about 1 minute. Whisk in yeast until dissolved.
- Whisk flour and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Using dough hook with mixer on low speed, slowly add beer mixture and mix until dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and continue to mix until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If after 5 minutes dough is still very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra flour; dough should clear sides of bowl but stick to bottom.)
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 1 minute. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and loosely reshape into ball. Cup hands slightly around dough and drag it over the counter in circular motion, forming dough into round loaf with smooth, taut surface. Pinch bottom seam closed and transfer loaf seam side down to 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place empty loaf pan (or other ovensafe pan) on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Bring 2 cups water to boil.
- Sprinkle flour lightly over top of loaf. Using sharp serrated knife, make ½-inch-deep cross about 5 inches long on top of loaf. Working quickly, carefully pour boiling water into hot loaf pan, then transfer skillet to oven. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and internal temperature registers 210 degrees, about 45 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking.
- Using potholders, transfer skillet to wire rack and let loaf cool for 10 minutes. Being careful of hot skillet handle, remove loaf from skillet, return to rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 2 hours rising, and 2 hours coolingYield
Serves 10 to 12 (makes 1 loaf)Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
You might assume that you have to make a special trip to a bakery for good Italian bread, or else settle for the pale, doughy loaves at the average supermarket, but making your own from scratch isn't as hard as you think. For a rustic Italian loaf with a chewy but tender crumb that was crusty without being tough, we used bread flour, which gave our bread voluminous height and a thick crust. We wanted to shorten the rising time for the bread, but that meant we were cutting out a step that usually provides a lot of flavor. To make up for this, we added a shot of yeasty tang by using a 5-to-1 ratio of beer to water as the liquid in our dough. Our cast-iron skillet played the role of a baking stone, giving us a nicely browned and even crust, and it also helped shape the loaf. Once the dough rose in a bowl for an hour, we transferred it to the skillet and let it rise again, which gave the loaf a nice round, even shape. Last, to ensure a good rise and a nice crust, we added water to the oven during baking to create steam, an element that helped the bread stay supple and encouraged a light, tender crumb.
Before You Begin
We prefer to use a mild American lager, such as Budweiser, here; strongly flavored beers will make this bread bitter.
Instructions
- Microwave beer, water, and oil in 2-cup liquid measuring cup, stirring occasionally, until mixture registers 110 degrees, about 1 minute. Whisk in yeast until dissolved.
- Whisk flour and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Using dough hook with mixer on low speed, slowly add beer mixture and mix until dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and continue to mix until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If after 5 minutes dough is still very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra flour; dough should clear sides of bowl but stick to bottom.)
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 1 minute. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and loosely reshape into ball. Cup hands slightly around dough and drag it over the counter in circular motion, forming dough into round loaf with smooth, taut surface. Pinch bottom seam closed and transfer loaf seam side down to 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place empty loaf pan (or other ovensafe pan) on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Bring 2 cups water to boil.
- Sprinkle flour lightly over top of loaf. Using sharp serrated knife, make ½-inch-deep cross about 5 inches long on top of loaf. Working quickly, carefully pour boiling water into hot loaf pan, then transfer skillet to oven. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and internal temperature registers 210 degrees, about 45 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking.
- Using potholders, transfer skillet to wire rack and let loaf cool for 10 minutes. Being careful of hot skillet handle, remove loaf from skillet, return to rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.
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