No Knead BreadBread can be truly daunting to make. But not this loaf! All you need is a cast iron or other oven safe pot, some parchment paper, and the ingredients. It's very forgiving.
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Ingredients:
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Add the hot water to your mixing bowl, then sprinkle the yeast on top (don't dump it into a single spot). Let it sit for a moment while you measure out your flour and salt. Add the flour and salt and stir the batter with a spoon or a mixer's paddle attachment.
Once the batter is fully mixed together, cover the bowl with cling wrap (or a plastic grocery bag or a damp towel) and set aside. Any non-breezy spot will do. I put mine in my oven with just the light on and no heat. The dough needs to rise for a minimum of three hours and not too much more than five. If you want a longer rise time (such as overnight), you can follow the same instructions but instead of using hot water, use body temperature water. You can let it sit for up to 12 hours if body temperature water is used.
The dough, at the end of its first rest, should look bubbly and have a definite yeasty smell to it. If you jiggle it, it should wiggle a bit. Depending on the type of flour used, it may be more or less loose, but don't worry too much about it.
Flour your counter space (I use about a half cup of flour to do this), and then use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to scrape out the dough onto the floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a couple of tablespoons more of flour. Using a dough cutter (it looks like a big flat bit of metal with a curled "handle" at one end) or even a small flexible cutting board, fold over the dough several times (about 10 to 12 times).
Put a piece of parchment paper (NOT waxed paper) into a bowl about the same size as the dutch oven you'll use for cooking in, and place the dough into the bowl, on top of the parchment. Cover it with whatever you covered it with before. Let it rise for 35 minutes or until your oven preheats to 450F, whichever is longer. When you preheat the oven, make sure your dutch oven (or other oven-safe pot with a lid) is inside, also preheating!
Once the oven is heated, carefully use hot pads to take the lid off your pot. Then lift the dough and parchment paper, and put the whole thing into the pot, and put the lid on top (it's okay if some of the parchment paper sticks out - it's just there to keep the bread from sticking to the pot). Set your timer for 25 minutes, and let the bread bake.
When the 25 minutes is up, remove the lid and slide out the parchment paper. Leave the bread inside the now-naked pot, with no lid on, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how dark you want the loaf to be, and whether it's done (knock on the bottom, and listen for a hollow sound, to know it's ready).
The hardest part is letting the bread cool at least until you can easily handle it with your bare hands. Cool it on a wire rack if at all possible, at least a half inch off the counter, so that air can circulate. As bread cools, it continues to cook, so this is a very important step.
Serve this bread with anything you like. It's delicious!
Once the batter is fully mixed together, cover the bowl with cling wrap (or a plastic grocery bag or a damp towel) and set aside. Any non-breezy spot will do. I put mine in my oven with just the light on and no heat. The dough needs to rise for a minimum of three hours and not too much more than five. If you want a longer rise time (such as overnight), you can follow the same instructions but instead of using hot water, use body temperature water. You can let it sit for up to 12 hours if body temperature water is used.
The dough, at the end of its first rest, should look bubbly and have a definite yeasty smell to it. If you jiggle it, it should wiggle a bit. Depending on the type of flour used, it may be more or less loose, but don't worry too much about it.
Flour your counter space (I use about a half cup of flour to do this), and then use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to scrape out the dough onto the floured surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a couple of tablespoons more of flour. Using a dough cutter (it looks like a big flat bit of metal with a curled "handle" at one end) or even a small flexible cutting board, fold over the dough several times (about 10 to 12 times).
Put a piece of parchment paper (NOT waxed paper) into a bowl about the same size as the dutch oven you'll use for cooking in, and place the dough into the bowl, on top of the parchment. Cover it with whatever you covered it with before. Let it rise for 35 minutes or until your oven preheats to 450F, whichever is longer. When you preheat the oven, make sure your dutch oven (or other oven-safe pot with a lid) is inside, also preheating!
Once the oven is heated, carefully use hot pads to take the lid off your pot. Then lift the dough and parchment paper, and put the whole thing into the pot, and put the lid on top (it's okay if some of the parchment paper sticks out - it's just there to keep the bread from sticking to the pot). Set your timer for 25 minutes, and let the bread bake.
When the 25 minutes is up, remove the lid and slide out the parchment paper. Leave the bread inside the now-naked pot, with no lid on, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how dark you want the loaf to be, and whether it's done (knock on the bottom, and listen for a hollow sound, to know it's ready).
The hardest part is letting the bread cool at least until you can easily handle it with your bare hands. Cool it on a wire rack if at all possible, at least a half inch off the counter, so that air can circulate. As bread cools, it continues to cook, so this is a very important step.
Serve this bread with anything you like. It's delicious!
Notes: This recipe can be made from most flour. I have an allergy to modern hybridized wheats, but can happily munch on spelt, farro, emmer, and einkorn. I made my loaf with a mix of spelt and rye, for a dark, hearty loaf. I used a half cup of rye, and 2.5 cups of spelt. I used a full teaspoon of yeast (spelt doesn't rise as easily as bread flour or all-purpose flour) and two teaspoons of salt for flavor.
I've also experimented with adding garlic (both fresh and powdered) to the dough, and sprinkling fresh herbs on top. I've seen a demonstration on YouTube where the lady actually uses whole cherry tomatoes and sprigs of parsley and thyme, pressing them into the dough when she puts it in the pot to bake, and it looked amazing.
When I say this loaf is easy, I'm not joking. If you're a few minutes over in time (for everything but the actual baking part), it still does what it's supposed to. If you want to add raisins and a bit of cinnamon, do it when you fold over the risen dough. Ditto for if you want to incorporate some fresh minced garlic or herbs. Or press sesame seeds into the top of the dough as you put it into the pot. It's all good! Just remember that dry ingredients (powdered garlic, dry herbs, etc.) go in during the initial mixing of the batter, while wet ingredients (such as raisins and fresh herbs like garlic or rosemary) go in during the fold.
If you rise this overnight, all you need to do in the morning is take it out of the oven and preheat the oven while you turn over the dough and add anything you want to it. Then pop it in the oven while you shower and brush your teeth, and voilà, fresh bread. Your family will love you!
To make a "sandwich loaf" instead of a round, carefully line a loaf pan with parchment paper, and put the dough into that to rise. It need not be covered while baking. Everything else is done the same as in the above recipe.
I've also experimented with adding garlic (both fresh and powdered) to the dough, and sprinkling fresh herbs on top. I've seen a demonstration on YouTube where the lady actually uses whole cherry tomatoes and sprigs of parsley and thyme, pressing them into the dough when she puts it in the pot to bake, and it looked amazing.
When I say this loaf is easy, I'm not joking. If you're a few minutes over in time (for everything but the actual baking part), it still does what it's supposed to. If you want to add raisins and a bit of cinnamon, do it when you fold over the risen dough. Ditto for if you want to incorporate some fresh minced garlic or herbs. Or press sesame seeds into the top of the dough as you put it into the pot. It's all good! Just remember that dry ingredients (powdered garlic, dry herbs, etc.) go in during the initial mixing of the batter, while wet ingredients (such as raisins and fresh herbs like garlic or rosemary) go in during the fold.
If you rise this overnight, all you need to do in the morning is take it out of the oven and preheat the oven while you turn over the dough and add anything you want to it. Then pop it in the oven while you shower and brush your teeth, and voilà, fresh bread. Your family will love you!
To make a "sandwich loaf" instead of a round, carefully line a loaf pan with parchment paper, and put the dough into that to rise. It need not be covered while baking. Everything else is done the same as in the above recipe.