I wanted to start my cooking videos off with something simple and rudimentary, and what could be more simple than breaking bread; a homemade rustic loaf at that! This no-knead recipe is one of the first types of bread I learned how to make, one of the most delicious and most importantly, one of the easiest. The secret to this loaf is a slow ferment and small amount of yeast. The key to the deep amber chewy crust is cooking it in a covered Dutch oven for 30 minutes, and then uncovered to get the beautiful colour after another 25 minutes. Don’t be intimidated by bread, especially once you see how easy this is!

The Recipe:

~500 grams of all-purpose flour

12 grams of kosher salt

2 grams of instant yeast

~400 grams of room temperature water

olive oil (for greasing the bowl)

additional flour for dusting and shaping

1) Weigh the flour, salt and yeast and combine in a bowl.

2) Add the water

3) Dip your hands in water before mixing the dough, squishing out any lumps of flour and trying to hydrate the dough completely.

4) When the dough comes together and has no more lumps, dip a dough scraper in water and scrape the edges of the bowl to incorporate all the dough into the centre.

5) Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let ferment for 18-24 hours.

6) Remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Dust with additional flour and start to shape the dough into a ball, gently.

7) Place the ball into a greased bowl and let proof for 90 minutes to two hours, around 1.5 times the original size.

8) Preheat your Dutch oven at 450 F.

9) Remove the lid and place proofed dough into the hot Dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes with cover on.

10) Remove the lid and continue baking for another 25 minutes.

11) Put loaf on rack and let cool, approximately 1 hour.

12) Bon appetit!