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Sheepherders Basque Style Bread
By Chef Al Vitzthum


3 Cups Very Hot Water
½ Cup Butter
½ Cup Sugar
2 ½ Tsp. Salt
4 Tsp. Dry Yeast
¼ Cup Oil
9 ½ Cups Flour


In a small pan, combine the Hot Water, Butter, Sugar and Salt. Stir until Butter melts, let cool to 115 degrees.

Transfer to large mixing bowl. Stir in Yeast and cover. Set in warm place until spores begin to bubble, about 15 minutes. Add 5 Cups Flour and beat with a large spoon by hand to form a thick batter. Work in with your hands enough Flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead it smooth. Add Flour as needed to prevent sticking. Put dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let dough rise until double in size, about 1 ½ hours. Punch dough down and knead again on a floured board to form a smooth ball. Dough may be divided into two pieces, otherwise it will take a 20 inch Dutch oven to bake it.

I separate about 1/3 of the dough and discard it. You can put a piece of foil to cover the bottom if you wish. Grease the inside of the 12 inch oven and lid. Place the remaining dough in the Dutch oven and let rise until double, about 1 hour. Cut a cross in the top and baste with 1 beaten egg white and 1 Tblsp. of water. Bake covered with lid on at 350 to 375 degrees for 30 minutes. The loaf will sound hollow when done.

Remove the briquettes from the oven, both top and bottom and let cool on a cooking rack. Place 8 briquettes under the oven and 15 to 16 on top to bake. When I place my dough in the Dutch oven to rise, I place the dough in a greased springform pan and put it in the Dutch oven. I place 3 briquettes on top and bottom of the oven to proof the dough. Important! Never take the top off the oven when proofing. Enjoy.

Thank's Dean. I'll have to practice this. 9 cups of flour makes a huge loaf. 6 makes a big loaf. Neighbors will be getting bread. Maybe make it for Mendicino. It's a little confusing when it says divide in half. I assume that if you use 2/3 of the dough, it fits in the 12 inch oven. Rather than throwing away a third, It would make more sense to reduce everything by a third. It's basically the Sunset recipe adapted for the outdoor dutch oven. Interesting about using bricketts to provide heat for proofing. Got to be carefull there. Of course on a cold windy day why not. I just read that a good place to proof was to put it in your car with the windows rolled up.

Mary,
I think the guy could've taken a bit more time and refined the recipe...
He mentions things out of order and doesn't fully explain some stuff.
Discarding 1/3 of the dough was a hoot, but the recipe did get my attention when he mentioned a 20" oven... That'd be one huge loaf!!!