Leek and Parmesan No Knead Bread

I am pretty passionate about making my own bread. Once you start, it is really hard to eat store bought bread again. My entire family are bread snobs at this point. My husband will say, “ not as good as yours” when we sometimes buy a loaf. But getting started in baking your own bread can seem very daunting. I started with easy ‘no knead’ bread recipes much like this one. That then evolved into sourdough, which is our favorite. But I still like a yeast bread recipe. It is the easiest way to get rolls, bagels, pizza dough, sandwich bread, etc. I am by no means an expert baker so that should show how relaxed bread making really is. It’s not nearly as picky as you will see online. Of course, we will still eat a slightly imperfect loaf so take it with a grain of salt. This recipe was kind of a spontaneous experiment when I had a craving for a really savory bread. It turned out so well, I just needed to share it. It’s quite easy, and I believe adaptable. I still have leeks in my garden, but if you find leeks hard to get right now, I suggest quickly sauted scallions or even just some caramelized onions would be delicious.

Ingredients:

3 cups AP fLour

1 tsp salt (or herb salt)

1/2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 medium leek, washed and thinly sliced

3-4 oz block of parmesan cheese

1-2 tbsp oil or butter for sauteing the leeks

Recipe:

1. Combine the flour, salt, yeast, honey and warm water in a large bowl. I just put all the dry ingredients in, add my warm water and honey and stir until well combined. Then cover the bowl and let it sit out at room temperature overnight. (8-12 hours)

2. The next morning. Place a medium dutch oven inside your oven and preheat to 450 F. Then thinly slice the leeks. Make sure they are washed thoroughly.

3. Saute the leeks in about 1-2 tbsp butter or oil with a pinch of salt. Saute for about 3-5 minutes until the leeks are soft and translucent. Remove from heat to allow to cool slightly.

4. Chop up the parmesan block into small chunks.

5. Flour your work surface and pour/scrape the bread dough out of the bowl onto the surface. Apply a little more flour to the top of the dough and gently press into a rough rectangle.

6. Distribute the parmesan chunks and sauted leeks evenly over the top of the dough and then fold the dough onto itself. I like to fold in thirds and then in half but just make sure all the good stuff gets inside the bread dough. Then roughly try to shape into a ball with the seam facing down. Place the ball onto a non stick bread mat or parchment paper and lift it into the hot dutch oven.

7. Put the lid on the dutch oven and bake at 450 F for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes uncovered. Allow to cool before slicing. (If you can wait because it smells so good, you will just want to eat a slice:))

Leek and Parmesan No Knead Bread