Sunday, October 12, 2014

Parmesan Peppercorn "No Knead" Bread


I've made this bread twice in one week.  It's that good.  

The recipe was inspired by our daughter and son-in-law who love the Parmesan pepper bread that they buy at a favorite Italian restaurant and retail sore.  They had brought us a sample of that bread this past summer and I wanted to see if I could recreate for them when they came for dinner this past week.


I decided on using a hearty, no knead, crusty bread for my experiment - the kind of bread that you bake in a covered dutch oven. After the dough had risen for the specified amount of time,  I patted it into a rectangle and spread a good half cup or so of finely diced Parmesan cheese and sprinkled on a good dose of freshly ground black pepper. I rolled it up into a log and allowed it to rest under plastic wrap until the oven and cast iron dutch oven were heated and ready to use.


I was very pleased at the look of the bread when I removed it from the oven! But would it taste as great as it looked?



The answer came when my son-in-law asked to take the uneaten portion of the bread home with him :)  I made it again two days later when our other daughter and her boyfriend came for dinner and certainly it won't be the last time!



Autumn is in full swing here in the Midwest!   My fall crocus is blooming and the leaves on the trees are turning red and gold and falling in a carpet on the lawn which makes great fun for two little boys to enjoy, especially with the beautiful week of weather we've enjoyed. 


Parmesan Peppercorn "No Knead" Bread

Makes one loaf

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups luke-warm water
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon regular yeast
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely diced Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons freshly ground black peppercorns (more or less depending on your taste)

Special equipment: A large dutch oven with lid, preferably enamel-covered cast iron
Tip:  Use a coffee bean grinder to grind larger amounts of peppercorns

In a large bowl, blend together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the warm water stir together.  The mixture will be wet and shaggy looking.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 8-18 hours.

After dough is ready to use, preheat the oven to 450 F.

Pour the dough onto a well-floured surface.  Flour your hands and pat the dough into a rough rectangle about 8" x 14".  Spread the diced parmesan cheese and ground black pepper over the dough and roll up into a log from the narrower side. Cover with the plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes or so.

While dough is resting, put a dutch oven with lid into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

At this time, I cut three very shallow slashes across the top of the bread with a serrated knife (don't cut too deep or the cheese will ooze out).

Then, carefully remove the dutch oven with hot pads and, using floured hands, place the bread dough into the dutch. Your may need a large, floured spatula to assist you. If your dutch oven doesn't have an enamel coating have a piece of parchment paper already cut to size and place that under the dough first.

Place the dutch oven into the oven, replace the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered.

Remove to a rack and cool.

72 comments:

  1. Hello Susan ,I like the bread and the crumbs are very nice, I see that your grandchildren were happy fun with the leafs, they are growing fast.. 🎃👻🎃

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  2. HI Susan, your bread looks amazing, love the Parmesan cheese and peppercorn combination. This is a real keeper. Pinned!

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  3. Bread looks awesome!! The boys are as handsome as ever, getting so big!

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  4. Susan this bread look awesome and delicious:)
    And the boys lovely too!

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  5. Your bread looks so good. I have hesitate doing this in my La Creuset for fear of damaging the pot. I have been looking for a cheaper model at garages sales, etc. No harm to your cast iron pot?

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    1. No harm at all, Susan. It gets some burned on stuff on the inside but the enamel coating makes it easy to clean.

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  6. This bread looks amazing and no knead!! I am making it soon!! Love the flavors. Your fall flowers are beautiful. Love the kids in the leaves, you're ahead of us, our leaves have just started to fall. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Julie! I do love the no knead and bread machine recipes to make things easy :)

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  7. Not only does the bread look amazing:) But the boys♥
    I am a sucker for little boys in fallen leaves..
    How great that you have a dark haired and fair haired beauty:)
    I got a cast iron pot just for bread with my banking points:) I didn't want to ruin the others..Funnily enough..I have red and you have yellow..
    But it should be "au contraire" my dear nana2.~
    You will never believe what I finally just made..On my blog demain:)

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    1. We blew them all into a pile for them to play in :) Love the yin yang boys :) The yellow was a gift - I probably would have bought red but I am actually fond of the yellow too. Can't wait to see!

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  8. I am not a big bread eater, but I sure could handle some of that one - thanks for sharing.
    Your Grands look like they were really having fun. They are so cute.

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  9. I make this type of no knead bread and it turns out well lovely pictures

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  10. Your bread looks amazing Susan, I can almost smell it baking! Looks like everyone is enjoying fall-have fun:@)

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  11. this looks so good and adorable pictures of your grandsons in the leaves

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  12. This sounds so delicious, Susan. I want to try it. Wonder if I can bake it in the crockpot as I do not have a Dutch oven?

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    1. I sent you an email, but I don't think a crockpot would work. Try placing the dough on a piece of parchment paper, slide that onto a preheated pizza stone and cover with a large aluminum bowl to keep in the steam for the first 30 minutes. Good luck!

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  13. What a gorgeous bread! I love the parmesan/peppercorn combination. I also love your beautiful garden photos and those sweet grandboys! :)

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  14. Sounds really delicious Susan! I love the photos of the boys and the leaves! They are getting so big.

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  15. Gorgeous crust and crumb, Susan. A perfect artisan bread.
    Happy Autumn, Susan!
    Angie

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  16. This looks so delicious like so many of your wonderful recipes Susan ! Your grandsons are so cute ! have a great week, a warm hug

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  17. Almost can't believe this is no knead, the bread looks so puffy, crumby and light :D
    Love the flavours!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  18. That bread looks delicious and sounds so easy. I'm very tempted to put it on our winter table!! I love the photos of the boys having fun in the leaves--so sweet!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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    1. Thank you, Bonnie! I do wish the trees would hang onto their color another month!

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  19. Your bread looks and sounds delicious with the Parmesan and black pepper. It's been much too long since I've tried no-knead bread. The boys in the leaves are adorable. What a burst of color.
    Sam

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    1. Thank you, Sam! It's what comes after that I'm not looking forward to!

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  20. That looks delicious! The boys are just precious! No leaves down yet here. I can wait.

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  21. Susan, you might want to blow up and frame the shot of those sweet little boys, amid a rainbow of fall leaves.

    You know, this morning, I made honey rolls (in loaf form, this time) for sandwiches. But your open crumb bread with Parmesan and ground black pepper is bound to send me back out for more flour. But I'm perfectly okay with that :)

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  22. Aw, thank you, Sol! They do make my heart swell :) I hope you try the bread - it's soooooo good.

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  23. What a simply beautiful loaf of bread. I bet it was so good. I would love to dip it in seasoned olive oil. ~ Catherine

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    1. Thank you, Catherine. The seasoned olive oil is a great idea!

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  24. I am always craving fresh homemade bread this time of year and this looks over the top marvelous! Wow, I can almost smell it baking.

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    1. Me too - I guess that's why I made it twice in one week :) Thanks, Jacqueline!

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  25. I always say that nothing can beat up the smell of homemade bread while baking! That crust on top is all the money Susan!

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  26. Your bread looks great Susan. I just made a Parmesan bread too, but I like the looks of yours better.

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  27. Oh that looks wonderful. I am thinking about toast about now and that bread looks as if it would toast well.

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  28. Now this is a bread to be reckoned with! That parmesan black pepper streak sounds to die for.

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  29. I believe you when you wrote - you made it twice in one week - it's that good - I can see that! It is one gorgeous loaf and the texture is simply amazing. Nothing better than this!

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  30. What a truly gorgeous loaf of bread! I can see why you made it twice in one week, it looks really good!

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  31. That's a gorgeous looking loaf, Susan. All those holes mean great bread! Love the black pepper, very unusual. I can practically smell that baking. :) Fun to make it in a Dutch oven, too.

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  32. Wow, that bread looks amazing! The boys are getting so big, and I love that first photo of Mack where he is throwing the leaves into the air.

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  33. You had me at parmesan. Seriously, with fall here, it's time for bread baking once more. This looks like a winner.

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  34. Sounds delicious Susan - always nice when a re=creation works out well.

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  35. Your bread sounds delicious! And, the photos of your grandsons are adorable!

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  36. I love pepper in anything (my friends say i'd put it in ice cream if I could - along with hot pepper!).
    Can't wait to try it.

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  37. Oh Susan! This no knead bread with parmesan and peppercorn just look awesome...I can imagine tasting a slice of this bread...yum!
    The picture of your grandkids playing with the leaves is so precious...
    Have a great day :D

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  38. What a beautiful loaf of bread, Susan. It's been awhile since I baked bread and your photo inspires me to make some to go with the pot of soup that's on the stove. Love the photos of your adorable little guys.

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  39. This loaf of bread looks perfect and also very yummy! I love the combination of Parmesan and peppercorn.

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  40. You had me a 'no-knead', but then you got me again with 'peppercorn' --- this is right up my alley!

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  41. Susan this loaf of bread looks absolutely stunning and the "no-knead" word certainly rang a bell to me. I love easy to make breads!

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  42. Susan - I'm not sure how I missed the post for this delicious bread - I can imagine it sliced warm and dunked in good olive oil. Regarding our bottomless freezer, it is actually freezers and we keep adding to them, but very little old stuff left.

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  43. How did I miss this post? October has been a whirlwind for me --thankfully fir all happy occasions--so my online tome has been limited. I make plain no knead bread often but this recipe looks like a good variation and perfect for an Italian food night! Thanks, Susan!

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