More Chocolate Sauce, Please!

One taste of this sauce and Barry said, "That tastes like more, please!" Made from cocoa powder, this thick fudgy homemade chocolate sauce takes ice cream to a whole new level of deliciousness. 

More Chocolate Sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use dark chocolate cocoa)
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
  1. Whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan. (Mixing sugar with the cocoa breaks down the starch in the cocoa and helps avoid lumpy sauce.)
  2. Using a wooden or cooking spoon, stir in the cream and heat of medium-low to low until sugar dissolves and mixture boils.
  3. Stir in butter and cook on medium-low to medium, stirring until mixture thickens. 
  4. Stir in vanilla and a pinch of salt.
  5. Store in there refrigerator and heat in the microwave to warm and thin slightly before spooning over ice cream, brownies, etc.
Recipe without photos . . .
More Chocolate Sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use dark chocolate cocoa)
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
  1. Whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan. (Mixing sugar with the cocoa breaks down the starch in the cocoa and helps avoid lumpy sauce.)
  2. Using a wooden or cooking spoon, stir in the cream and heat of medium-low to low until sugar dissolves and mixture boils.
  3. Stir in butter and cook on medium-low to medium, stirring until mixture thickens. 
  4. Stir in vanilla and a pinch of salt.
  5. Store in there refrigerator and heat in the microwave to warm and thin slightly before spooning over ice cream, brownies, etc

Almost No-Knead Oat Bread

We can't seem to get enough of this bread. Again, I started with Cook’s Country  Almost No-Knead Bread basic recipe but this time I used part oat flour and topped the loaf with additional oatmeal. But, I'm not done yet—still have plans for rye bread, Parmesan and olive or rosemary additions, and maybe a raisin and cinnamon loaf!

Almost No-Knead Oat Bread 
¾ cup oat flour (make your own by adding old-fashioned or quick oatmeal to a NutriBullet; a food professor works, too)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer (I just used whatever beer I had on hand + I used a little more -- just enough so there were no dry patches of dough)
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Vegetable oil spray
About 1 tablespoon oatmeal for sprinkling on top of bread
  1. Mix the flours, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl.
  2. Add the water, lager and the vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture to combine ingredients, scraping up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours. (I actually left mind for about 24 hours without any adverse changes in final product.)
  4. Lay an 18x12-inch sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
  5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
  6. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the oiled parchment paper and spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
  7. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one 6” long, ½” deep slit along the top of the dough; sprinkle oatmeal over the top.
  8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point —do not wait until the oven preheats.
  9. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
  10. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours. (We ate our loaf when it was warm from the oven.)
Other Almost No-Knead breads include:
Almost No-Knead Bread (basic loaf)
    Recipe without photos . . .
    Almost No-Knead Oat Bread 
    ¾ cup oat flour (make your own by adding old-fashioned or quick oatmeal to a NutriBullet; a food professor works, too)
    2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ¼ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
    ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
    6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer (I just used whatever beer I had on hand + I used a little more -- just enough so there were no dry patches of dough)
    1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
    Vegetable oil spray
    About 1 tablespoon oatmeal for sprinkling on top of bread
    1. Mix the flours, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl.
    2. Add the water, lager and the vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture to combine ingredients, scraping up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.
    3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours. (I actually left mind for about 24 hours without any adverse changes in final product.)
    4. Lay an 18x12-inch sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
    5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
    6. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the oiled parchment paper and spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
    7. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one 6” long, ½” deep slit along the top of the dough; sprinkle oatmeal over the top.
    8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point —do not wait until the oven preheats.
    9. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
    10. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours. (We ate our loaf when it was warm from the oven.)

    Murder mixed in w/ Graham Cracker Cake & Pineapple Topping

    I am intrigued with murder mysteries that include food and recipes. When I read Joanne Fluke’s Blackberry Pie Murder, I was also intrigued with her recipe for Graham Cracker Cake—a cake that relies on just graham crackers for its basic structure, no flour appears in the ingredient list. Besides, Barry loves pineapple so it sounded like something that we’d like . . . and we did.
    Of course, I made a few adjustments here and there . . .

    Graham Cracker Cake with Pineapple Topping
    Cake
    ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
    ¾ cup granulated sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    2 eggs
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon salt
    2¼ cups graham crackers crumbs
    1 cup whole milk
    1 cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts

    Pineapple Sauce
    8 ¼ oz. can crushed pineapple with juice
    3 tablespoons granulated sugar (original recipe called for ¼ cup)
    1 teaspoon cornstarch (I added this as a thickening agent)

    Cake
    1. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°.
    2. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar, adding the sugar gradually with the mixer set on MEDIUM speed. Add the vanilla and mix it in thoroughly.
    3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating the first egg before you add the second.
    4. Add the baking powder and the salt, beating until they are thoroughly mixed.
    5. Mix in half the graham cracker crumbs and half of the milk. Beat well.
    6. Mix in remaining half of graham cracker crumbs and milk. Beat well.
    7. Fold in the chopped nuts by hand, using a silicon spatula.
    8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a silicon spatula.
    9. Bake cake in preheated oven from 30 to 50 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted (in center and on sides, too) comes out clean. (The original recipe calls for a 30 minute baking time but it took about 50 minutes in the oven I was using.)
    10. Cool cake on a wire rack. Serve with Pineapple Sauce and yogurt, whipped cream or ice cream.
    Pineapple Sauce
    1. Combine pineapple and juice with sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan; mix thoroughly.
    2. Cook the mixture over MEDIUM HIGH heat, stirring constantly until it boils.
    Recipes without photos . . .
    Graham Cracker Cake with Pineapple Topping

    Cake
    ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
    ¾ cup granulated sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    2 eggs
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon salt 
    2¼ cups graham crackers crumbs
    1 cup whole milk
    1 cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts

    Pineapple Sauce
    8 ¼ oz. can crushed pineapple with juice
    3 tablespoons granulated sugar (original recipe called for ¼ cup)
    1 teaspoon cornstarch (I added this as a thickening agent)

    Cake
    1. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°.
    2. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar, adding the sugar gradually with the mixer set on MEDIUM speed. Add the vanilla and mix it in thoroughly.
    3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating the first egg before you add the second.
    4. Add the baking powder and the salt, beating until they are thoroughly mixed.
    5. Mix in half the graham cracker crumbs and half of the milk. Beat well.
    6. Mix in remaining half of graham cracker crumbs and milk. Beat well.
    7. Fold in the chopped nuts by hand, using a silicon spatula.
    8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a silicon spatula.
    9. Bake cake in preheated oven from 30 to 50 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted (in center and on sides, too) comes out clean. (The original recipe calls for a 30 minute baking time but it took about 50 minutes in the oven I was using.)
    10. Cool cake on a wire rack. Serve with Pineapple Sauce and yogurt, whipped cream or ice cream.
    Pineapple Sauce
    1. Combine pineapple and juice with sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan; mix thoroughly.
    2. Cook the mixture over MEDIUM HIGH heat, stirring constantly until it boils.

    Almost No-Knead Cranberry-Pecan Bread



    I started with Cook’s Country plain Almost No-Knead Bread and we liked it so much that I mixed up another batch, this time adding dried cranberries and pecans. It, too, is delicious and easy. Thinking about trying an oat or rye variation next.



    Almost No-Knead Cranberry-Pecan Bread 
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ½ cup dried cranberries (craisins)
    ½ cup chopped & toasted pecans
    ¼  teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
    ¾  cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
    6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer (I just used whatever beer I had on hand + I used a little more -- just enough so there were no dry patches of dough)
    1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
    Vegetable oil spray
    1. Mix the flour, salt, cranberries, pecans, and yeast together in a large bowl.
    2. Add the water, lager and the vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture to combine ingredients, scraping up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.
    3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours. (I actually left mind for about 24 hours without any adverse changes in final product.)
    4. Lay an 18x12-inch sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
    5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
    6. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the oiled parchment paper and spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
    7. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one 6” long, ½” deep slit along the top of the dough.
    8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point —do not wait until the oven preheats.
      The parchment paper stays in place, the lid goes on and the Dutch oven is placed into a cold oven (middle rack) and the timer is then set for the first 30 minute baking.
    9. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
    10. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours. (We ate our loaf when it was warm from the oven.)
      Baked bread.
      Ready to eat. This bread also makes great toast.
    Other Almost No-Knead breads include:
    Almost No-Knead Bread (basic loaf)
    Recipe without photos . . .
    Almost No-Knead Cranberry-Pecan Bread 
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ½ cup dried cranberries (craisins)
    ½ cup chopped & toasted pecans
    ¼  teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
    ¾  cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
    6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer (I just used whatever beer I had on hand + I used a little more -- just enough so there were no dry patches of dough)
    1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
    Vegetable oil spray
    1. Mix the flour, salt, cranberries, pecans, and yeast together in a large bowl.
    2. Add the water, lager and the vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture to combine ingredients, scraping up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.
    3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours. (I actually left mind for about 24 hours without any adverse changes in final product.)
    4. Lay an 18x12-inch sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
    5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
    6. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the oiled parchment paper and spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
    7. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one 6” long, ½” deep slit along the top of the dough.
    8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point —do not wait until the oven preheats.
    9. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
    10. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours. (We ate our loaf when it was warm from the oven.)

    Three generations of Veach bakers — Rhubarb Pie, Apple Galette & Cinnamon Rounds

    John Veach's picture perfect Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie
    Three generations of bakers are included in my Chef’s Table article that appears in the winter 2015 issue of Sunflower Living magazine. While John Veach offers up his “easy as pie” Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie recipe, his mom, Dorothy Veach, and daughter Sarah show what they can do with leftover pie dough. Lisa Eastman’s photos showcase the baker’s accomplishments and you'll discover how competitive baking has lead to a collection of honors for these bakers. There are even pie making/baking tips included with the story. 
    Dorothy Veach and granddaughter Sarah prepare the filling for John Veach's Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie.
    Below are also my photos of Dorothy's Rustic Apple Galette & Sarah's Cinnamon Rounds. To access these all three of the Veach recipes click on The Best Bakings Come in Threes.


    “Something Different” Side Dish—Barley Pilaf with Veggies

    Barley Pilaf with Roasted Chicken
    Barley makes a great side dish; we served ours with roasted (spatchcock) chicken and another side of coleslaw. Quick-cooking barley would cook faster (dish would cook in about 15 minutes) but we keep pearl barley on hand so that’s what I used.

    Barley Pilaf with Veggies
    ¼ cup diced onion
    ¼ cup diced carrot
    2 tablespoons canola oil
    1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
    1 bay leaf
    1½ cups chicken broth
    ¾ cup pearl barley
    ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    1. Cook onion and carrot in oil in a saucepan over medium heat until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaf about last 2 minutes.
    2. Deglaze pan with broth. Stir in barley; add lid and simmer until barley is tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
    3. Discard bay leaf and season with salt if needed.

    Leftovers? I chopped up the leftover chicken, added it to chicken broth and the remaining barley for Chicken-Barley Soup. I did add some extra carrots + some celery.

    Recipe without photos . . . 
    Barley Pilaf with Veggies
    ¼ cup diced onion
    ¼ cup diced carrot
    2 tablespoons canola oil
    1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
    1 bay leaf
    1½ cups chicken broth
    ¾ cup pearl barley
    ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    1. Cook onion and carrot in oil in a saucepan over medium heat until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaf about last 2 minutes.
    2. Deglaze pan with broth. Stir in barley; add lid and simmer until barley is tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
    3. Discard bay leaf and season with salt if needed.

    Almost No-Knead Bread — crusty, artisan-style bread with a minimum of effort

         Oh my gosh! I’ve made several no-knead (or partial knead) breads in the past but never as good as this loaf! They’ve all started with flour, yeast, salt and water – the basics that are allowed to ferment, and then with minimal effort, are shaped and baked in a Dutch oven. Not sure what the difference is—maybe the beer or the cold oven, but this recipe yields a crisp, light, somewhat porous, loaf with a moist crumb and good taste.       
         I discovered this recipe in a Cook’s Country magazine and just had to give it a try.      It was perfect with soup and I’ll definitely be making this again (to eat with just about anything or everything), plus I plan to test out some variations as well. To make it — simply mix a few ingredients (the beer and the vinegar basically act as the fermented starter), let it set several hours, knead 10 to 12 times and then after a two hour proof, the bread goes into a cold oven to bake.
         This bread also makes great toast.

    Almost No-Knead Bread
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ¼  teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
    ¾  cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
    6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer (I just used whatever beer I had on hand + I used a little more -- just enough so there were no dry patches of dough)
    1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
    Vegetable oil spray
    1. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl.
    2. Add the water, lager and the vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture to combine ingredients, scraping up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl. 
      The dough look rather "shaggy" at this point.
    3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
    4. Lay an 18x12-inch sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
    5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
      Dough has been kneaded and shaped.
    6. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the oiled parchment paper and spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
      Dough has just been transferred to the Dutch oven. Notice that the parchment paper stays in place throughout the baking process.
    7. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one 6” long, ½” deep slit along the top of the dough.
    8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point —do not wait until the oven preheats.
    9. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
      This is what the bread looked like about the first 30 minutes in the oven.
    10. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours. (We ate our loaf when it was warm from the oven.)
    Other Almost No-Knead breads include:

    Recipe without photos . . . 
    Almost No-Knead Bread
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ¼  teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
    ¾  cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
    6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer (I just used whatever beer I had on hand + I used a little more -- just enough so there were no dry patches of dough)
    1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
    Vegetable oil spray
    1. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl.
    2. Add the water, lager and the vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture to combine ingredients, scraping up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.
    3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
    4. Lay an 18x12-inch sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
    5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
    6. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the oiled parchment paper and spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
    7. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot. Lightly flour the top of the dough and using a sharp knife or a razor blade, make one 6” long, ½” deep slit along the top of the dough.
    8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point —do not wait until the oven preheats.
    9. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
    10. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours. (We ate our loaf when it was warm from the oven.)