Gluten for punishment (bun intended)

As if baking and cooking for the holidays wasn't enough, tomorrow I decided to tackle my delicious Low n Slow BBQ Pork Roast.  And I wanted fresh bread to go with it.  Not rolls, but artisan bread!  So this is my adventure into making "Easy Homemade Bread" I found this recipe on Pinterest and have been keeping it in my To Make folder for just the right occasion.  The blogger who posted the recipe makes it sound soooo simple!  So here we go! (start time 6pm)

Gather the ingredients, and there really aren't many...

Then combine everything in a large bowl and mix till combined. I ended up having to do it by hand, because I couldn't get it mixed with the wooden spoon I was using.  Next time I am definitely using the dough hook and the stand mixer.

The cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12-18 hours.

Fast forward to today and I must have done something right because is has risen and smells soooo yummy!

Time to take it out and form the loaf

And place the loaf on a floured piece of parchment paper because I don't trust just flouring a towel, especially one that my mom made me! Then wrap that bad boy up and let it rise at room temp for 1-2 hours or until doubled.

About 30 minutes before it's time to bake this you need to get a dutch oven or other oven safe pot and put it in a cold oven and the heat the oven to 425

Now that it's risen it's time for the difficult part, this is the part that scares me a bit to be honest. You get the super hot dutch oven out of the oven and flip the dough into the pot, seam side up...

...Mercy, and here we go!

Ok, that wasn't too bad, heavy, and flour poofed everywhere but it's also cleaning day here so no big deal.  Let it bake for 40-50 minutes

I wish you could smell via blog, cause my house smells soooooo good right now!

When the timer goes off remove the lid and let it bake for another 5-10 minutes until the top is a yummy golden brown.

The original blogger warns that once it's done, you put it on a cooling rack to let it cool and don't cut into it until the crackling stops, so hard to not start munching, but I'll be a good girl and wait till dinnertime.

Store in the dutch oven on the counter-top until you have eaten it all, or you could use it for croutons or in a breakfast casserole!