No-Knead Bread

This bread is a-mazing. Tegan was the first to try it and we were all immediately hooked. It easily rivals Terra Bread—at a fraction of the cost.

I can't take credit for the recipe, and if you want to find out how it all started, you can read about it here.

Two things though. First, you have to start it the day before you want to eat it. (OK, at the end of this recipe, I give a way to cheat on this rule.) 

Second, you really have to restrain yourself from overworking the dough. Seriously, minimal stirring at the beginning. And then barely touching it as you put it in the dutch oven.

The instructions say to cover with plastic wrap but since I don't buy plastic wrap I cover with a cloth.

No-Knead bread

    3 cups all purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons salt
    ½ teaspoon yeast
    1½ cups room temperature water

Dough

1. Mix flour, salt, and yeast together.
2. Stir in the water until a chunky, thick dough forms.
3. Add a few more tablespoons of water if you need to—just to get it barely wet all over.
4. It will look scrappy. Don't worry. Don't mix more. Trust.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 12–18 hours at room temp.  

Get ready to bake (the next day)

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Put enamel coated, cast iron Dutch oven in the oven to heat (About 30 minutes. I often put the pan in the cold oven and let it heat up as the oven does.)
3. The dough should be puffy and have bubbles in it.
4. Generously flour a sheet of parchment paper that is big enough to line the Dutch oven right up to the rim on both sides.
5. Gently scrape or pour the dough onto the parchment paper.
6. Shape dough into a ball by gently rolling it up and around in flour with a minimum amount of touching. 
7. DON'T knead or over-mix.
8. Let sit for 30 minutes while the pan is heating up.
9. If it's a bit oozy and is tending toward a pancake shape, lift the parchment paper with the dough on it and place in a bowl to help it keep a rounder shape
10. Cover with the plastic and let sit while the pan heats up. 

Bake

1. Take the Dutch oven out of the oven.
2. Remove the plastic from the dough.
3. Lift the dough and parchment together and place into the Dutch oven.
4. Remember the pan will be very hot. Be careful.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the cover and bake another 15 minutes until crispy and golden brown on top.
7. Get ready for deliciousness!

Quick proofing method (in the microwave)

If you forgot to plan ahead, but really, really want fresh bread soon, this method works. The warm humid environment helps the bread rise faster.

Mix and bake the dough exactly as in the recipe above. But instead of letting it rise for 12-18 hours, proof as below.

1. Microwave one cup of water for two minutes on high.
2. Put the covered bowl of dough (with the water) in the microwave and close the door.
3. The warm humid environment helps the bread rise faster.
4. Let sit for 45 minutes. If it hasn't doubled in size, remove the bread, reheat the water for another minute and put the dough back in for 15 minutes more.

My very own makeshift proofing oven

   And now for the pictures. . .

 

Mix the dry ingredients together

Oops. Forgot to mix all the dry ingredients together before adding water.
Just goes to show how forgiving this recipe is - if you don't knead it.

After about 5 stirs

After about 10 stirs. It's almost like you are folding in the flour.
See, it looks "scrappy".
And you're done.

Making two batches at once. Shhhh! It's resting overnight.

Get a large piece of parchment

Generously sprinkle flour on the parchment

Gently scrape/pour dough onto parchment

Make sure you get the dough on the floured bits or it will stick to the parchment

Oops. Didn't have enough flour on the parchment so sprinkled some on top for ease of manipulating.

Gently rolling the dough in the flour and sprinkling more flour on top to get a loaf shape.
Of course the recipe didn't work the time I remember to take photos.
🤷‍♀️
For some reason, the dough was particularly sticky this time so I had to dust with quite a bit of flour to help get it into a ball shape.
Meanwhile I'm getting nervous about handling it too much.
🤞

Usually, the dough turns into a nice ball so I cover it and leave it while the pan is heating up.
This time it was kind of fluid so I picked up the whole shebang and put it in a bowl to help keep its round shape.

Just a reminder: The Dutch oven is gonna be hot!

Put the dough in the Dutch oven, by lifting the parchment at the edges and gently placing it in.

Put the cover on and bake 30 minutes.
Take the lid off and bake another 15 or so.

Nice and crispy and golden!

Yummy.