Perfect Your Blueberry Loaf with Dutch Oven Baking

There is something about homemade bread fresh out of the oven that makes the day better. The house smells wonderful and I know every ingredient that goes into the fresh loaf. I especially love my new Dutch Oven Pot since I no longer have to “pull” the bread out. This recipe I found from Off Grid Life and decided to give it a try. I’ve made my own adjustments to this blueberry loaf so it is adjustable to personal preferences.

You can use fresh picked, store bought, or frozen blueberries in this recipe. The choice depends on the time of year you’re baking and where you live. I keep both frozen blueberries and blueberries I’ve canned so we have them all year long. There is lemon juice in this recipe but I also add a little lemon zest for a “zing”.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Blueberries
• 1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Cup of Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Softened Unsalted Butter
• 4 Cups of Flour
• 1 Packet of Rapid Rise Yeast
• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 2 Cups of Warm Water
• A Pinch of Salt

Step One: Combine yeast and warm water in a medium-sized bowl. Stir gently to combine. I prefer to use a whisk. Allow yeast and water to sit for approximately 10 minutes. This allows it to “bloom” and it will appear foamy.

Step Two: In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir. Create a “well” in the flour mixture. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the top of the flour mixture. When yeast has “bloomed”, pour into flour mixture.

Step Three: Using a mixing spoon, stir the dough until it is all combined. The dough will be very sticky and “shaggy”.

Step Four: Transfer the dough back into the bowl the yeast was bloomed in. Drizzle small amount of olive oil over the top of the dough and cover. Allow the dough to “rest”. It should rise to double it’s original size. This rise takes approximately one hour.

Step Five: While the dough is “resting”, combine the blueberries with 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Add lemon juice and softened butter in a small mixing bowl. Lemon zest can be added during this step or sprinkled in during step 6.

Step Six: There are two ways for this step. You can pour the blueberry mixture into the bread dough. Then, use a spoon to press the edges of the dough. This will work the blueberries to the bottom of the bowl. The second way is to “loosely” roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. I use my hands to work the dough out. No utensils necessary. Then I place my blueberry mixture on my dough and fold over and then roll up.

Step Seven: Place back in the bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel or wrap. Allow to rise for another 30 minutes. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place dutch oven inside to warm up.

Step Eight: Carefully remove warmed dutch oven after 30 minutes and place dough into warmed pan. I use parchment paper under my bread for easy removal. Be careful with this part as the dutch oven will be HOT!

Step Nine: Place dutch oven lid on top and allow bread to bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove lid and at this time, you can drizzle a little butter over the top. Bake for another 10 minutes uncovered. Carefully remove the dutch oven and allow bread to rest for another 10 minutes.

Step Ten: Remove from dutch oven and allow to cool on cooling rack.

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