Ok, in the vein of recipes I LOVE, you have to make Pastor Ryan’s bread.  Stop what you are doing, go into the kitchen and make it.  You only need 5 ingredients, all of which you should have.  And if you don’t have these ingredients, you should leave the house, go to the store and get the ingredients.  Taking the time to put shoes on is simply unacceptable.

I would direct you to Pioneer Woman for this recipe , however, I feel the need to warn you that making this required several modifications on my part to the recipe and so I would feel better telling you how I make this recipe rather than having you make the recipe on her website.  Ok?  Ok.
First, I gather the ingredients:

• 3 cups of bread flour (you can use regular flour, I just don’t know how it turns out… read: don’t blame me if you screw this up)
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of Red Star (or whatever brand you prefer) Active Dry Yeast
• 1 cup of water (room temp)
• 4 tbsp of butter, melted
• 2-3 tsp of herbs (thyme, Italian seasoning, Basil, garlic – whatever you want to put in the bread… it’s your bread.  own it.)
• Olive oil.  And lots of it.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Put the flour and salt in your mixing bowl.  Use the bread hook attachment.  Or maybe you are a flower child and you want to knead this by hand.  Again, own this bread.  Work it.  Become one with it.

In the cup of water, add the yeast to get it all “activated” and stuff.  Add the herbs to the melted butter.  Dump the yeasty-water and herby-butter into the salty-flour.  Marvel at your amazingness.

Turn on your mixer and watch it mix.  The dough should ball up around the dough hook.  The dough should be loose and not clumpy.  After about 10 minutes of kneading on the dough hook, you can pull off a piece of the dough and see if it is stretchy and transparent without breaking (window pane test).  Or you can do what I do, which is pray.  While you’re praying, let the dough sit and rise for 1 to 4 hours, until it doubles in size.  Knead the dough a couple of times to, as Pastor Ryan says, “redistribute the yeast.”  Make it into a cute ball of doughy happiness.  Cut a deep X into the top of the dough.

Coat the bottom of a castiron or metal dutch oven with olive oil.  (Make sure that your dutch oven doesn’t have any plastic handles!!  They will melt in the oven which will ruin your dutch oven AND your bread.  And you definitely don’t want to ruin this bread!)  Please your dough ball in the center of the dutch oven, douse it with some more olive oil (about a tbsp or two), sprinkle with coarse/kosher salt.

Put this bad boy into the oven with the lid on for 30 minutes.  Then take the lid off and let it brown up and get real pretty for another 15-30 minutes.  REMEMBER TO USE OVEN MITTS WHEN TAKING THE POT OUT OF THE OVEN.  I say this more for myself than for anyone else.  But just in case you are like me – do as I say and not as I do.

The bread should have an internal temperature of 200-220 degrees.

Let it cool down a bit (which may take  lot of will power).  Then slice it up and devour it before your guests arrive.  Err.  I mean, thank goodness it’s such an easy recipe, you can make two loaves!

All credit for this recipe goes to Pastor Ryan and Pioneer Woman, Ree.  Enjoy!