05SHAPE THE DOUGH & FINAL RISE (30 MIN):: When dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board.
06Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN - you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread. (Note: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a little bit, wet your hand with a bit of cold water and gently separate the dough from the bowl to get it all out).
07Shape the dough into a round loaf: Pull each corner of the dough in towards the center (like you're folding an envelope) and repeat until the dough feels tight and begins to resist your folds. Flip the dough over and pull it into a round loaf. Watch the video(s) above to see exactly how we do this!
08Flour a proofing basket or a medium bowl and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes or so while you preheat the oven. Note: I like to line my proofing basket or mixing bowl with a clean linen napkin to distribute the flour more evenly and help with cleanup.
09HEAT THE OVEN :: While bread is rising, place an empty dutch oven (with the lid on) in your oven and heat to 460 degrees Fahrenheit.
10BAKE!: When the oven is hot, you're ready to go! Use oven mitts to pull the dutch oven out and remove the lid.
11Lay a piece of parchment paper down on your counter or cutting board (optional - it makes transferring the bread easier!)
12Tip your bread dough gently out of the proofing basket onto the parchment paper. Make sure the seam side is up this time - this is what will create those beautiful cracks on top of the bread!
13VERY CAREFULLY (without burning yourself!) use the sides of the parchment to lift the bread up and place it into the hot Dutch oven.
14Put your oven mitts back on, place the dutch oven lid back on the pot, and slide the whole thing back into your hot oven.
15Cook bread for 30 minutes.
16After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your dutch oven. The bread should be taller, crusty, and very lightly browned. Continue cooking the bread, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful brown crust.
17When bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of your oven.
18Use a long spatula or the corners of your parchment paper to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it.