Meet Big Bertha

Say hello to Big Bertha, my new dutch oven! I got her for my birthday and tested her out over the weekend. First I had to replace her knob with a generic stainless steel knob I found around the house from a Tramontina steamer. Bertha is a Lodge oven, and like other ovens, her original knob could only withstand temperatures up to 400F. This, would just not do. After an exhaustive search--I even tried the metal-looking cabinet pulls from the bathroom--I finally found a replacement knob.

First up:

Artisan Bread with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Olives and Parmesan

Adapted from Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 5/8 cups water

Mix all three ingredients together until just combined in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and store in a room temperature environment for 12-18 hours. The air bubbles are worth the wait!

Add

1/2 cup grated parmesan (I used 18-month aged parmesan from Trader Joe's)

1/2 cup sliced olives (green or black depending on preference)

4 large pieces of sun-dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil (diced)

Incorporate the above ingredients, with a sprinkle of flour. Recover with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 15 minutes.

Scoop dough out of the bowl on to a generously floured surface. The dough will be very sticky and stringy. Slap the dough around with some flour and shape it into a round ball with flour until it no longer sticks to your hands. Generously flour a cotton towel or a large piece of plastic wrap and place the shaped dough on top and cover with a well-floured cotton towel or paper towel. Let sit for two hours.

30 minutes before baking, pre-heat oven to 450F with the dutch oven inside. Dump the dough into the dutch oven and shake the pot down until the dough settles. You will hear a sweet sweet sizzle when the bread dough hits the hot oven. Close the lid immediately.

The lid keeps all the moisture from the dough within the pot and creates a steamy environment for a crunchy crust. Cook for 30 minutes with lid on and 15 minutes without the lid. The bread should be done baking after about 45 minutes (or until the top of the boule is browned). Let it rest for about an hour if you can wait!

As soon as I took this bread out to cool I began to cook a beef stew and used all 2.5 liters of Bertha for a delicious Irish Beef Stew that spent 5 hours in the oven. I will be giving her a break for the rest of the week. More breads to come soon!