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Sheepherder's Bread

Sandy Greathouse <Muzzley@onecom.com>
Sat, 06 Jul 2002 09:12:07 -0400
v102.n030.8
I've not tried this recipe yet....someone requested it on another recipe 
list I'm on, and I posted it. It sounds absolutely delicious!!

Sheepherder's Bread

Basque shepherds who tended flocks on remote Western rangelands baked their 
bread in Dutch ovens buried in pits. Few follow this routine today. Now 
updated versions of the dome-shaped loaf are baked in conventional ovens 
with much more predictable results.

This recipe came from Anita Mitchell, Elko, Nevada; it won her the 
bread-baking championship at the 1975 National Basque Festival. We 
published it the following year.....Sunset 1988

3 cups very hot tap water
1/2 cup (1/4-lb.) butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packages active dry yeast
About 9 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Salad oil

In a large bowl, combine hot water, butter, sugar, and salt. Stir until 
butter is melted; let cool to about 110 F. Stir in the yeast; cover and set 
in a warm place until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Beat in about 5 cups of the flour to make a thick batter. Stir in about 3 
1/2 cups more flour to make a stiff dough. Scrape dough onto a floured 
board; knead until smooth and satiny, 10 to 20 minutes, adding as little 
flour as possible to prevent sticking.

Place dough in a greased bowl; turn over to grease the top. Cover and let 
rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and knead briefly on a floured board to release air; shape 
intoa smooth ball. With a circle of foil, cover the entire bottom of a 
5-quart cast iron or cast aluminum Dutch oven. Grease foil, inside of Dutch 
oven, and lid with oil. Place dough in Dutch oven and cover with a lid. Let 
rise in a warm place until dough pushes up lid by about 1/2-inch, about 1 
hour (watch closely.)

Bake, covered, with lid, in 375 F oven for 12 minutes. Remove lid and 
continue to bake until loaf is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove bread 
from oven and turn out onto a rack to cool (you'll need a helper). Peel off 
foil and turn upright. Slice loaf in large slabs, or cut in wedges. Makes 1 
very large loaf.

Note: This looks absolutely delicious! I wonder if you could bake it in a 
different type of baking pan? I don't have any cast iron or aluminum Dutch 
ovens.....but, I'm ready to go buy one after seeing the picture of this 
bread and reading the recipe! Sandy G.