This casserole bread is a little out of the ordinary: even though it is not made with a stand mixer, plenty of gluten structure is developed in the dough, allowing it to rise beautifully. The dough is then cold-proofed to develop even more flavour. This is the bread you make when you really want to impress your guests or put in a little extra effort on a Sunday morning.
Baking the bread in a cast iron casserole gives the dough a heat shock while trapping the steam inside, allowing the bread to expand before the crust sets. The result is a light, moist crumb with a crispy crust.
The recipe uses rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the tea towel. If you don’t have rice flour, you can use another type of flour. However, rice flour does not absorb liquid in the same way as wheat flour, making it the most effective option in this context.
Tip: The dough has a high hydration level, which can make it slightly more challenging to handle. If you are new to baking, you may reduce the water slightly to begin with. Once you are comfortable with the process, gradually increase the hydration to the amount stated in the recipe for an even softer, more open crumb.
Ingredients
2 g yeast
500 g cold water
100 g sifted spelt
475 g wheat flour
15 g fine salt
Rice flour
Method
Mix the water and yeast in a large bowl until the yeast has dissolved.
Add the sifted spelt, wheat flour and salt, and stir until there is no dry flour left. Do not knead the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover it and leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, it's time for coil folds: fold the dough to strengthen the gluten structure: wet your hands so that the dough does not stick, then bring both hands under the dough from either side, slightly above the middle. Gently lift the dough until the piece away from you comes away from the bottom of the bowl. Release the dough again so that the piece folds under the dough. Be careful not to tear the dough when lifting – it is better to do it in several small steps. Turn the bowl half a turn and repeat. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Finally, turn the bowl half a turn and repeat so that all four "sides" have been folded. Cover the bowl again.
Repeat the folds a total of four times at 30-minute intervals.
Once you have made the last folds, the dough will have risen for a total of two hours. Now let it rise until it has almost doubled in size – about 1.5 hours more.
When the dough has finished rising, it needs to be shaped: Pour the dough onto a clean table. If you have a dough cutter, you can use it to shape the dough into a ball by pushing it under itself so that the surface is tightened. Use a little water on your hands and the dough cutter to prevent sticking. If you do not have a dough cutter, you can use your hands to tighten the dough along the tabletop – here it may be advantageous to use flour instead of water. When the dough is tightened, it is easier to handle and less sticky.
Place a tea towel in a bowl of approximately 3 litres and sprinkle rice flour over it. Sprinkle a little rice flour over the dough and place it in the bowl with the stretched surface facing downwards.
Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator at approximately 5 degrees overnight.
Preheat the oven, with a a 4.5 litre cast iron casserole in the oven, one hour before baking, at 230 degrees Celcius.
After an hour, take the cold dough out of the fridge and turn it out onto a piece of baking paper. Make a cut in the top of the dough with a sharp knife, dough cutter or clean razor blade.
Take the hot casserole out of the oven, remove the lid and place the dough inside. Put the lid on and place the casserole back in the oven.
Bake the bread for 30 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and finish baking with top/bottom heat until the crust is brown and crispy.
Cool the bread for at least an hour on a wire rack before cutting it, so that the crumb has time to settle.
