Cast Iron

Orange, Honey and Cardamom Dutch Oven Bread with Orange Cardamom Compound Butter

April 22, 2021
4
4 Ratings
  • Makes One Boule
Author Notes

For this recipe, I decided to put a twist on Jim Lahey's basic no-knead bread method. Cooking the bread in a hot cast iron dutch oven imitates the evenly heated bricks in a domed oven. The tight-fitting lid traps in the steam, which keeps the inside moist, and gives the outside a solid crackly crust. My version is laced with honey, but not overly sweet, and aromatic with cardamom and orange zest. I paired it with an easy to make sweet orange cardamom butter to compliment the subtle sweetness and spice of the bread. The texture of the bread is best when allowed to cool for at least an hour--that is, if you can wait that long! —Spoonwithme

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Ingredients
  • Orange Honey Cardamom Dutch Oven Bread
  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • cornmeal or additional flour for dusting
  • Sweet Orange Cardamom Compound Butter
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons peeled, finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Directions
  1. Orange Honey Cardamom Dutch Oven Bread
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, yeast, honey, cardamom, and orange zest. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon or your hand until you have a very sticky, shaggy dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel. Let the dough rest and rise for 12-18 hours, until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough doubles in size.
  3. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a cutting board with flour. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl to the cutting board (it will be sticky). Using lightly floured hands or a rubber spatula, gently fold the edges in toward the center, shaping the dough into a ball.
  4. Generously coat a cotton towel (non-linty) with cornmeal. Put the dough seam-side down on the towel and sprinkle with more cornmeal. Fold the towel over the dough. Allow the dough to rest for 2 hours, or until doubled in size. 30 minutes before the last rise is complete, place the dutch oven (cast iron pot) in the oven and pre-heat to 450? F.
  5. Remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel, and turn the dough over into the pot. (This will be messy, but no worries…it will round out as it bakes).
  6. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.
  7. Uncover and continue baking for about 15 minutes, or until the loaf is browned.
  8. Remove the bread to a wire rack and allow to cool for an hour before cutting.
  1. Sweet Orange Cardamom Compound Butter
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients using a fork until smooth and well-combined. Serve immediately, or if desired, spoon the butter from the bowl onto plastic wrap and roll into a log. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to one week. Serve with Orange, Honey and Cardamom No-Knead Bread.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

16 Reviews

emanne December 3, 2020
The bread was great, but i would add way more cardamom next time, since i couldn't really taste it. The orange zest made reminded me of marmalade. Bread texture was great.
Heidi January 25, 2016
Just took the bread out of the oven. It smells wonderful! I love baking on snowy days. Wish I could upload the picture I took.
Jennifer W. January 29, 2014
You can't possibly have used only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast - really? Not without a starter or something else to help the breaad rise...it would have been flat as a pancake. Should it be 1 and 1/4 or 2 and 1/4?
hardlikearmour January 29, 2014
The quarter teaspoon is correct. You don't need much due to the long rise time.
Mary August 4, 2013
I'm a little confused. Do you put the dutch oven back into the conventional oven or does the bread finish cooking in the dutch oven alone? thanks
Jennifer M. December 29, 2013
Yes, the bread goes back into the oven to finish baking.
AppleAnnie February 19, 2011
Such a great recipe! I mixed the dough up at 8:00pm, started the second rise at 10:00am the next morning, and have been enjoying this wonderful loaf ever since 2:00pm! The orange flavor is subtle but distinctive. I stirred the honey into the (warmed) water to dissolve it. Also, I used one cup of King Arthur white whole wheat flour and two cups of bread flour. The directions are excellent. I have made this type of bread before, but have never had such wonderful results. Heartfelt thanks to Spoonwithme --hope you have more bread recipes to share!
AppleAnnie February 23, 2011
I loaded a photo of my bread;sorry I didn't mean to displace Spoonwithme's photo.
Spoonwithme February 24, 2011
Thanks Annie! I'm so glad you enjoyed it as much as I do! I'll have to try it with white whole wheat flour--I'm always trying to put more whole grains in things I bake. Oh, and no worries about the photo. Easily fixed:)
AppleAnnie February 9, 2011
Can't wait to try this!
nannydeb February 2, 2011
Both sound wonderful!
Sagegreen February 2, 2011
ditto!
TheWimpyVegetarian February 1, 2011
Major, major YUM!!! Saved this one!
drbabs February 1, 2011
I'd love the compound butter on a muffin!
Spoonwithme February 1, 2011
Ooh, I bet it would make good bread pudding!
hardlikearmour February 1, 2011
This sounds amazing. I bet it'd make to-die-for bread pudding!