Easy Dutch Oven Bread (Hunter’s Bread!)

Well, Autumn has arrived and you know what that means… It’s time to bake bread! Over Summer, baking bread just gets a bit lost in the chaos of the warmer months. The sourdough starter goes into the freezer to hibernate, the bannetones get stored away and aside for a quickbread here and there, and a different side of baking takes hold in my kitchen. But once it cools and Autumn rolls in, I’m all about the bread, and I get back into my weekly Sunday loaves. 

Most Sundays, I bake my Mum & Dad a loaf for their Sunday night supper. One weekend, I gave my sister a loaf and my nephew (who is 5 and rarely eats my cooking), declared this recipe “so good I wanna eat it every day”, and so, in our family, this easy Dutch oven bread recipe quickly got the name “Hunter’s bread”, and it kinda stuck!

While this recipe tastes like a proper artisan bread, it’s really quite easy, full of simple ingredients, and all the flavor comes from the slow, overnight rise. And the best part? You don’t need to be a seasoned baker or have any special equipment beyond a Dutch oven and a stand mixer. This Dutch oven bread recipe is perfect for both beginners and home bakers.

So, Why Use a Dutch Oven for Bread?

A cast-iron Dutch oven creates a steamy environment similar to a professional bread oven. When covered, it traps moisture released by the dough during baking, helping the crust form properly and allowing for a better rise. The end result is a bread with a crunchy, golden crust and a tender, even crumb inside.

Ingredients

• Bread flour. Don’t substitute with a plain, all-purpose flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content, which leads to slightly chewier bread with more structure. 
  
• Dried instant yeast. I love using instant yeast. It can be mixed directly into the flour and works well with long fermentation.
  
• Sea Salt Flakes – Murray River pink salt is my salt of choice; Maldon comes a close second.
  
• Lukewarm water – Too hot and it could kill the yeast; too cool and fermentation will slow. To me, lukewarm water is when you’re running the tap, and when you run your hand underneath, it’s not cold, yet not hot. Just warm is how I think of it.
  
• Olive oil 
  
• Butter or oil (for greasing the Dutch oven)

Equipment

Firstly, you’ll need a Dutch oven. I use my 22cm Le Creuset enamel cast iron casserole to make this loaf. You’ll also need a few everyday kitchen utensils… a mixing bowl, a kitchen scale, parchment paper, plastic wrap, a spatula, and a bench scraper.

The details

1. Mix the Dough. In a stand mixer fitted with a large mixing bowl and a dough hook, combine flour, salt, olive oil, and instant yeast. Pour in the lukewarm water. Turn on the mixer to speed 2 to combine all the ingredients. Once everything has combined, reduce the speed to 1 and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes.

2. First Rise (Bulk Fermentation) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a silicon lid and pop it into the fridge overnight to let the dough rise and ferment a little. The dough should double in size and look soft and jiggly on the surface.

3. Shape the Dough. Remove the dough from the fridge. Lightly flour a clean work surface. Use a spatula or bench scraper to turn the dough out gently—try not to deflate it. Gently fold the edges of the dough underneath toward the center a few times to form a round ball. Transfer the shaped, cold dough ball to a piece of parchment paper. Pop it into an oiled Dutch oven to rise. Let it rest for roughly 2 hours in a warm place for it to come back to room temperature and rise again.

5. Bake the Bread. Preheat the oven to 220°C/390°F. Cover with the lid and pop it into the oven. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Drop the temperature to 190°C/375°F, then remove the lid and continue baking for a further 20 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

6. Cool Before Slicing. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. This helps the texture finish setting and makes slicing easier.

Variations

Add some fresh herbs: Mix in chopped rosemary, thyme, or basil for a herbed loaf.

Top with seeds: Sprinkle sesame, poppy seeds, petpitas, or a bagel mix on the surface before baking.

Add a bit of melted butter or milk to make a slightly softer bread.

Lightly press some fresh edible flowers into the top of the dough before the second rise for a floral look loaf.

How not to kill your cast iron when baking bread

We’re using a Dutch oven method to cook this bread, which is easy on your cookware. I see time and time again, people who are taught to heat their enamel Dutch oven on 250°C or as hot as your oven goes, without any oil basting the enamel, and preheat it for 30+ minutes. This is a sure way to ruin your beautiful enamel cast iron cookware, and US culinary shopkeepers just shudder at the thought!

If you are cooking in the oven, ALWAYS have the interior of your pot rubbed with oil or full of liquid, eg, soup, stew, etc. Otherwise, your pot may get thermal shock, and the glass-like enamel can crack. These are slow-cooking vessels and aren’t for dry, high temperatures. In Le Creuset’s wise words…”High heats should never be used to preheat a pan before lowering the heat for cooking”. 

Serve it up…

As your morning toast and slathered with butter: The simplest and arguably most satisfying way to enjoy a loaf of homemade bread.

Slice and sandwich your favorite sandwich filling combo between 2 slices. Toasting optional!

As a side to hearty soups and stews like this Guinness beef stew.

Don’t throw away stale bread; instead, make it into croutons for a salad or bread crumbs for chicken schnitzel! Slightly stale slices make excellent French toast. No wastage round here!

Storage

Once your homemade bread is at room temperature, store it in a paper bag or wrapped in a towel for up to 3 days.

To freeze, slice the loaf and store it in a freezer-safe plastic bag. Reheat slices in a toaster or oven as needed.