Low Sodium Artisan Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Mix 3-1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, oil, and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water. Beat on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 45 to 50 minutes or until double. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.) If you don't have a warm, draft-free place, I find it works well to place covered bowl on a rack in the oven above a pan of warm water.
• Grease 2 loaf pans, 9x5x3 or 8-1/2x4-1/2x2-1/2 inches. Punch down dough and divide in half. Shape each half into loaf, place in pans. Brush loaves lightly with margarine if desired. Cover and let rise in warm place 35 to 40 minutes or until double.
• Place oven rack in low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped; remove from pans. Brush loaves with margarine if desired. Cool on wire rack.

Steps:

• Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the water and herbs, if using, and mix well. The dough will be very sticky and shaggy-looking. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.
• Generously flour a work surface. The dough will have risen and will be covered in bubbles. Transfer the dough to the work surface and dust it with flour. Fold the dough in half, and then form the dough into a ball by stretching and tucking the edges of the dough underneath the ball.
• Liberally flour a kitchen towel (do not use terrycloth). Place the dough ball on the floured towel. Cover with another floured towel. Let the dough rise for about two hours [see footnote].
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a lidded Dutch oven or deep heavy duty casserole dish (with lid) into the oven to preheat.
• Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Remove the lid and gently turn the dough ball into the ungreased baking dish, seam-side up; shake the dish so the dough is more evenly distributed.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the baking dish and let it cool on a rack before slicing.