Apricot and nut bread from the dutch oven

Admit it: there are few things as good as the smell of freshly baked bread. This is not a bread you whip up in five minutes; this is a project you take your time over. And trust me, you can taste that in every crumb. By letting the dough rest overnight in the fridge, you give the flavours a chance to deepen even more. The result? A bread with a crispy, golden-brown crust and a soft inside packed with sweet apricots and earthy nuts.

You bake this bread in a dutch oven (yes, the classic method). The pan does pretty much all the heavy lifting for you: it traps the steam, which gives you the kind of crust you'd normally queue half an hour for at your favourite bakery.

Makes: 1 loaf
Prep: 15 minutes (+ 1 hour rest + 1 night in the fridge)
Oven time: 45-50 minutes
Rest time: 60 minutes (patience is a virtue!)

Ingredients

The dough

• 500 g flour (I used a mix of wheat and wholemeal)
• 375 ml lukewarm water
• 3 g dried yeast (about half a teaspoon)
• 10 g salt

The filling

• 100 g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 100 g unsalted nuts
• 1 generous tablespoon of honey

You'll also need

• Dutch oven with lid
• Baking paper
• Large mixing bowl

Method

1. Combine the flour, dried yeast and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the lukewarm water and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is well mixed. You'll end up with a wet and sticky dough, which is exactly what you want. Cover the bowl and let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes.
2. Scatter the apricot pieces and nuts over the dough. Fold the dough a few times from the outside in over the filling, using a wet hand or a dough scraper.
3. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film or a lid. Place it in the fridge for 12 to 18 hours.
4. Take the bowl out of the fridge. Let the dough come back to room temperature for an hour, nice and slow.
5. Preheat the oven to 250°C and put the dutch oven (with lid) inside. Let it get blazing hot for at least 30 to 45 minutes.
6. Tip the dough carefully onto a well-floured piece of baking paper or work surface. It's a soft dough, so handle with care. Shape it into a ball with floured hands and let it rest for 15 minutes.
7. Score a cross on the top with a sharp knife; that way the bread expands more evenly. Lift the bread by the baking paper into the hot pan and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.
8. Remove the lid, lower the oven to 200°C and bake for another 20 minutes.

To serve

Let the bread cool on a rack for at least an hour before slicing. Yes, the temptation is huge, but the structure of the bread still needs to set. Serve with a generous knob of butter or a great slice of Comté.