The BEST French Boule Bread
A simple French Boule bread made in a Dutch oven
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Oven
- Mixing bowl
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 400 g Plain Flour or bread flour
- 300 ml warm water 35 degrees celcius
- 7 g Maple syrup or honey
- 8 g instant yeast
- 8 g salt
- 1/4 cup Chilli, garlic, sundried tomatoes what ever toppings you want to add
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, maple syrup and yeast. Whisk this together for 30 seconds and then set aside for at least 10 minutes until frothy
- Combine the flour, and salt and add the yeast and water mixture. Knead using a stand mixer with dough hook for 8 minutes until the dough forms a nice ball, or knead for 10-15 minutes by hand until a smooth ball forms. Add 1 tsp of plain flour at a time if the dough seems too sticky. The result should be a lightly tacky dough ball
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or lid and let the dough rise in a warm spot. If the temperature is too cold, set your oven to warm for 20 minutes then switch it off, and place the bowl with dough (covered) in the oven to rise. Let the dough rise for at least 90 minutes until it has doubled in size
- Spread a small amount of ghee or butter over your palms and gently coat the dough with it. Place back into a bowl and cover with a lid or damp tea towel. Let the dough rest for a minimm of 1 hr or until dobuled in size
- After the dough has doubled, turn the dough out onto a floured space and make sure you DO NOT pnuch the air out. Dampen your hands and gently fold the dough over and work in the additions such that the dough still has air pockets and the additions are nicely incorporated
- Smooth the dough by bringing the sides into the centre and shape the dough gently
- Prepare a bread lame with plain flour, or a piece of cotton fabric with pain flour then gently place the dough in the middle and wrap the dough with the fabric, then return the dough and fabric to a bowl. Let this rest for another 30 minutes
- In the meantime pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees celcius and place your Dutch oven with the lid on in the oven
- After the 30 minutes is up, tip the dough ball onto a large piece of baking paper. Now you can use your bread razor or a sharp knife to make cuts in the top of the dough
- Gently remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place onto a heat proof mat or onto your stove top. Now gently pick up the dough ball by grabbing the baking paper and lowering the paper and dough into the Dutch Oven. Put the lid back onto the Dutch oven and return it to the oven
- Bake the bread for 30 minutes with the lid on, and then remove the lid and let the bread continue to bake for up to 15 minutes or until the bread is a deep brown
- Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and set onto a heat proof mat or the stove top and let the bread cool for 5-10 minutes. Very carefully remove the bread by grabbing the baking paper and setting it onto a cooling rack. Peel back the baking paper and set the bread onto the cooking rack
- Let the bread rest for 15 minutes before slicing into it and serving