Bread
After the Pulled Pork recipe, Gijs was often asked whether he also made the buns on the barbecue. Because in one of the photos the buns are on the barbecue, he understands where that question comes from, but he actually baked those buns in the oven. They were only on the barbecue briefly to stay warm.
That did give Gijs an idea: would it be possible to bake bread on the barbecue? After a quick search, it turned out this is very possible, so Gijs decided to give it a shot. This recipe is for a basic white loaf, but it is easy to adapt with different herbs to make, for example, Mediterranean-style breads.
Ingredients:
- 14 g dry yeast
- 320 ml lukewarm water
- 350 g flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
Preparation:
To start, the yeast needs to be activated. Gijs pours a small amount of the lukewarm water into the dry yeast and stirs well. Once this yeast mixture is smooth, he adds the rest of the water and stirs everything thoroughly. Then he covers the mixture with a tea towel and lets it rest for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, Gijs has time to weigh out 350 grams of flour. He adds the flour and 2 teaspoons of salt to a mixing bowl. After 10 minutes, the yeast mixture is added too. Everything is mixed well and covered with a tea towel, then left to rise for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, Gijs removes the tea towel and folds the dough inward from the edges with a spatula. This lightly pre-kneads the dough. He then puts the towel back over the bowl and lets it rest for another 1.5 hours.
After another 1.5 hours, Gijs clears a work surface and dusts it with flour. He pours the dough out of the bowl and dusts the dough with flour as well. He gently kneads it until it forms a drier, workable mass. Then Gijs rinses the mixing bowl, coats it with sunflower oil, puts the dough back in, and lets it rise for one final hour.
This hour is the perfect time to heat up the barbecue. Because the barbecue needs to reach around 230 to 250°C, Gijs uses the minion method. This temperature also means baking bread on the barbecue cannot be done at the same time as something like pulled pork. That does not mean the two cannot be combined in one session, though. Many meats, such as pulled pork, still need resting time. By pushing the already burning coals together and placing a ring of fresh coals around them, the barbecue temperature can be raised and the bread baked while the meat rests.
Gijs bakes his bread in a Dutch oven. Because this should be done with indirect heat and the Dutch oven also needs preheating, Gijs places a pizza stone as a heat shield and puts the Dutch oven in the barbecue too. Be careful not to place your Dutch oven directly on the pizza stone if it does not have insulated feet. Non-insulated feet transfer heat from the pizza stone too quickly, which can overheat the bottom of the Dutch oven and burn your bread.
Once the hour has passed and the barbecue is at temperature, Gijs places the dough in his Dutch oven. To prevent sticking, he dusts the bottom with a thin layer of flour. Gijs also sprinkles a little flour on top of the dough for a nice finish.
The bread is baked in 2 stages. First, Gijs bakes it for 30 minutes in a closed Dutch oven at 230 to 250°C. Then he removes the lid and bakes it for another 15 minutes.
After a total bake time of 45 minutes, Gijs takes the bread out of the Dutch oven and lets it cool for 10 minutes. After that, it is ready to slice and eat.
Although the process might suggest the bread will be dense, the high barbecue temperatures create a nice airy texture.
This recipe is for a basic white loaf, but by experimenting with ingredients, this method can deliver great bread for any occasion.