The bread is out of the oven. I repeat … the bread is out of the oven.
OK, so my fear that it would be the ugliest loaf of bread ever didn’t come true. It’s not totally hideous, and the crust is gorgeous.
I had as much trouble getting it out of my makeshift Dutch oven as I did getting it in. Once I finally got it free, I remembered that the last time I did a super-hydrated bread in the Dutch oven, I didn’t dump it out and off the parchment paper, I just dropped it in with the parchment paper on the bottom, and it fell right out when it was done. Duh. Must make a note of that on the recipe card so I don’t forget that again.
The crust was rock hard when I pulled it out, and I was somewhat concerned about people breaking teeth while eating it, but now that it’s been sitting on the cooling rack for about 15 minutes under a cotton towel, the crust is getting softer. The loaf has a nice hollow sound when thumped, so I think it isn’t a brick either. I won’t know what it’s like on the inside for at least another hour, but I suspect I have once again pulled success from the jaws of failure.
Of course, who knows what it will taste like. It might be bland. Guess we’ll know tonight at dinner! I’m hoping it’s not bland. The flour is really tasty, so I don’t think it could possibly be too bland.
Even though it appears the bread turned out just fine, I have to say that working with super-hydrated bread dough† is such a long and drawn out process, and it makes such a mess. The bread tends to be worth it, but I was so tired today, that having to deal with more than my usual “daily bread” recipe really grated on my last nerve.
But I am pretty sure my last nerve will get over it after I have a bite of that bread with some nice soft butter on it … and about 8 hours or more of sweet, sweet sleep.
Seriously, I need sleep. I need sleep now.
Footnotes- † Super-hydrated bread dough is equal amounts of water and flour, which is a lot of water for a bread dough. [↩]