Bread, most people eat copious amounts of it but few bake it themselves. It may seem to be a daunting task –all that preparation and kneading– but this recipe requires very little effort (I’d wager the least of any bread recipe that I’ve come across) and should yield delicious bread every time.
No-Knead Bread Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes – wait time: 12-20 hours – Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon yeast
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt (kosher, if you have it)
- 1 1/2 cup cool water
- cornmeal, semolina or wheat bran –for coating
- olive oil or melted butter
Equipment:
- 1 deep enamelled cast-iron or glass pot, with lid
Directions for dough:
- Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
- Add the water.
- Using your hands mix it together into a dough (about a minute or two).
- Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and let it ferment somewhere (at room temperature) for 12-20 hours.
After 12+ hours your dough should resemble this –full of bubbles and have those stringy protein-y strands– and be only slightly tacky.
That particular dough was fermenting for ~14 hours
The long ferment time develops –in place of kneading– the gluten in the flour which is crucial to a bread’s structure.
Carefully remove the dough from the bowl onto a clean work surface, with as minimal manipulation of the dough as possible.
Preheat an oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, with your pot inside.
Pinch and fold the dough into it’s centre a couple times to make a nice ball-shape* and coat liberally with the semolina, bran or cornmeal (I used the foremost in this instance).
Where these folds meet is where we’ll get that nice split in the top crust of the bread.
When the oven-pot system is preheated, carefully place the dough inside with the side opposite the folds face-up.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.
After the 30 minutes, remove the lid and drizzle the loaf with oil or butter (if you’re using either) and then continue to bake for 15 minutes without the lid.
When finished baking your loaf should have a nice crust, dark from all the caramelization.
Cutting it open reveals plenty of air pockets (where those bubbles used to be) and beautiful crumb structure.
This recipe was adapted from Mark Bittman, New York Times (who in turn adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery) and is one I really enjoy because of how simple (and delicious) it is.
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