KS Quotient
Super Easy: Fuss-free ingredients, all except garnish added at once. No hand-shaping.
Due to the hops and malt in the ale, this homespun, seed-encrusted pot boule has a hearty flavor, faint bitterness, and the same light yeasty aroma that always seems to hover in brewpubs. The interior is somewhat holey, with a pretty pale, well, ale color. If you use sesame seeds (my preference though a multi-seed blend is nice, too) for garnishing the loaf, they will turn golden and give the bread a slight nuttiness and crunch. The pleasantly springy crumb makes it suitable for toast and sandwiches. Or, cut it into generous slabs and serve along with a hearty soup or stew.
As is true of many of the peasant-style pot breads in the book, this one is simply popped into a pot, topped with a lid, and baked. New York Times columnist Mark Bittman created a stir when he re-introduced the idea of pot breads in a story featuring baker Jim Lahey and his French-style loaf baked in a Dutch oven. But baking bread in a heavy pot is not new in America; it was commonplace before kitchens came outfitted with ranges and ovens. (Dutch oven baking has long been popular with campfire cooks.)
In her 1833 work, The American Frugal Housewife, Lydia Maria Child mentions buttering a "bake-kettle," which the homemaker was instructed to fill with bread and then hang over the fire to bake. Large, cast metal pots with legs, variously called posnets, creepers, or spiders (presumably because they resembled big, creepy spiders), were standard hearth equipment when cooks still had to bake over fireplace coals.
Yield: 1 large loaf, 12 to 14 portions or slices
4½ cups (22.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose white flour or unbleached white bread flour, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Scant 2 teaspoons table salt
¾ teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
1 bottle (12 ounces) well-chilled pale ale or beer
2/3 cup ice water, plus more if needed
Vegetable oil or oil spray for coating dough top
3 tablespoons sesame seeds or poppy seeds, or 1 tablespoon each sesame, poppy, and flax seeds blended together, for garnish
First Rise In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Vigorously stir in the ale and ice water, scraping down the bowl sides completely and mixing until the bubbling subsides and the dough is thoroughly blended. If it is too dry to mix together, gradually stir in just enough more ice water to blend the ingredients; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If necessary, stir in enough more flour to yield a hard-to-stir dough. Brush or spray the top with oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours; if convenient, vigorously stir once during the rise.
Second Rise Using an oiled rubber spatula, lift and fold the dough in towards the center all the way around until mostly deflated; don't stir. Brush or spray the dough surface with oil. Re-cover the bowl with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.
Let Rise Using Any of These Methods For a 1½- to 2½-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 45-minute to 2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 24 hours, then set out at room temperature. Continue the rise until the dough doubles from the deflated size, removing the plastic if the dough nears it.
Baking Preliminaries 20 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 450°F. Heat a 3½- to 4-quart (or larger) heavy metal pot or Dutch oven or a deep, 4-quart, heavy ovenproof saucepan in the oven until sizzling hot (check with a few drops of water), then remove it, using heavy mitts. Taking care not to deflate the dough, loosen it from the bowl sides with an oiled rubber spatula and gently invert it into the pot. Don't worry if it's lopsided and ragged-looking; it will even out during baking. Very generously spritz or brush the top with water, then sprinkle over the seeds. Immediately top with the lid. Shake the pot back and forth to center the dough.
Baking Reduce the heat to 425°F. Bake on the lower rack for 55 minutes. Remove the lid. Reduce the heat to 400°F. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until the top is well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until the center registers 208° to 210°F on an instant-read thermometer).Then bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the loaf to the rack. Cool thoroughly.
Serving and StoringCut or tear the loaf into portions; it tastes good warm but still better cool. Cool completely before storing. To maintain the crisp crust, store in a large bowl draped with a clean tea towel or in a heavy paper bag. Or store airtight in a plastic bag or foil: The crust will soften, but can be crisped by heating the loaf, uncovered, in a 400°F oven for a few minutes. The bread will keep at room temperature for 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.