Dutch Oven Crusty Bread

Recently I shared a bread recipe on Facebook.  I hadn't made it yet, but it looked good.  Here is the link.  It is from This Old Gal again.  It seems that she is my go to for air fryer and pressure cooker recipes.  https://thisoldgal.com/instant-pot-yogurt-whey-dutch-oven-crusty-bread/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare

As I have mentioned many times, I make yogurt.  I have for many years.  In order to get a nice thick Greek yogurt, I strain the liquid whey out of it.  For every quart of yogurt, I get 1 1/2 cups of whey. The internet tells many ways to use this product from feeding plants to using it in other recipes.  Up until now, I never liked it in other food.  It is very sour.  Then I found this bread recipe which is really good for those who are lactose intolerant.  There is almost no lactose in the whey.  All the details on how to make this bread are in the "This Old Gal" website or click the link above.  I changed the process slightly, but I still give her credit for the recipe.

The whey is the clear liquid drained from the finished yogurt.

 This Old Gal mixed the dough by hand, but I used my bread machine set on the dough cycle.  The only ingredients are:

1 1/2 cup of whey
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
3 1/2 teaspoons yeast

That's all there is to it.  The dough is pretty soft so I was worried it would be sticky.  I dumped it out of the bread machine pan onto a floured surface.  As I folded it over and punched it down, it became very smooth and manageable.

At this point you let it rest for thirty minutes.  At the same time, you pre-heat a cast iron dutch oven.  I imagine you could just put it on a cookie sheet and bake.  However, baking the bread in the dutch oven works very well.  For the first 25 minutes of baking time, you cover it.  Then finish baking with the lid off for an additional 15 minutes, or you can bake it completely with the cover on.

I am writing this blog to share the recipe, but also to save it for myself.  I will be making it over and over again.

Here is is right out of the oven,  It is a very crusty bread with a soft center.

It has a great texture and I love it toasted.