No Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Instructions

1. In a big bowl, combine the warm water with the butter, sugar and yeast. Allow this to sit for at least 5-10 minutes to proof before adding the flour.
2. In a smaller bowl mix the flour and salt together.
3. Pour the flour mix (½ cup at a time) into the water and mix gently but thoroughly with a wooden spoon or spatula (you can mix the first 3 adds with a whisk to speed this process up).
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it sit on your counter for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
5. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the Dutch oven in your oven to preheat it too.
6. Dust a Dutch oven liner or parchment paper with flour or corn meal and pour the risen dough out of the bowl and onto the center of the liner, helping it out of the bowl with a wooden spoon or spatula.
7. Form up the dough but don’t knead it. Get it into a nice round shape, but handle it as little as possible. Let rest for another 30 minutes or so.
8. When the dough is ready to bake, use a knife to cut 3 diagonal slits, 1” deep, in the bread to allow the baking dough to breath.
9. Remove the Dutch oven from the preheated oven and remove the lid. Using the liner, gently ease the dough ball into the Dutch oven being careful not to burn yourself.
10. Replace the lid with and place the Dutch oven into the oven and bake the dough for 30 minutes.
11. At 30 minutes, check the interior temperature of the bread. The bread is done when the center reaches at least 200 degrees.
12. If you would like to surface to darken, remove the lid and place the Dutch oven back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so.
13. Remove the bread and let it cool completely before slicing and serving.