Miracle bread baked in a …pot?

This recipe has been a revelation. I saw it on a Spanish website and wondered about it. I mean, is it possible to bake a bread in a casserole? The question intrigued me and I decided to have a go! You can see my result above and the taste was wonderful! And can I tell you that there is very little effort involved?  And NO rising time? I mean, you can´t go wrong!

First, the ingredients. I recommend using fresh yeast.

Ingredients for Miracle Bread

310 g strong bread flour (Plus a little extra for dusting)

175 g water (room temperature)

20 g olive oil

15 g fresh yeast

10 g salt (Do not add this until halfway through kneading)

 * I recommend some sunflower oil to lightly grease your work surface. It prevents sticking and you will see the dough witll come together well without sticking to the work surface so much.

* Not sure about quantities because you don´t use grams? Convert them  here .

Method

There is no preheating with this method.

Put the flour in a large bowl and crumble in the fresh yeast. Add the water and the oil. Now begin incorporating all the ingredients (except the salt) using your hand. Use the other hand to hold the bowl in place. If you haven´t made bread before, you will think..¨Oh my gosh this will never come together!” My answer to that is to be patient. Of course it will! When you see it coming together, pour all the contents onto a lightly greased worked surface. Don´t worry if there is still some loose flour that hasn´t come together. It will! Now begin kneading the dough for 5 minutes. You will see that the ingredients  do come together! If you find that the dough is sticking to the work surface too much, just grease your work surface again. Don´t panic! And when I say kneading, I don´t mean beating the crap out of it. Here is a good video to show you how to knead. After 5 minutes, add the salt to the dough. I did this by making an indentation with the palm of my hand and sprinkling in the salt. Then knead for another 5 minutes. Make 4 quick  slits into the dough with a sharp knife, brush lightly with olive oil and then sprinkle with flour. Place it in a lightly oiles casserole pot and cover it. Yes, cover it!

Place it it in the oven that has NOT been preheated and turn to oven on to 220 degrees. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

If you want a bigger bread…

Follow the same steps except:

1. Let the bread rest in the pot for an hour before baking.
2. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees
3. Make the slits just before putting the bread in the oven. And cover it.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

I folowed these steps and these were the results:

I was happy with both methods but I liked the appearance of the first one better. There was no notable difference in taste and I would deintely make it again.

I hope you try this and enjoy it like we do!

xxxx Natascha