I don't remember where this recipe came from, but as bad of a baker as I am I've not been able to screw it up. Pretty good bread for the small amount of work.
No Knead Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp. kosher salt (Do not use regular table salt, or your bread may become too salty.)
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm (not hot) water
Combine the dry ingredients together in a large plastic or glass bowl. Pour in the water and stir just until mixed. Shaggy dough should form. Cover the bowl (I use a very large Tupperware bowl) and allow it to sit on the counter for about 18 hours. The dough is ready when it becomes covered in bubbles and when you can see the strands of gluten forming when you tip the bowl. Your dough will be very wet and sticky. That is how it should be.
Sprinkle the work surface (I like to use my Silpat so that the dough doesn’t stick) with a mixture of about 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornmeal. Scrape dough out onto the floured surface and fold it four times like you would a letter–once from 3 and 9 towards the middle and once from 6 and 12. Place dough back into the bowl seam-side down and cover again, allowing it to rest for another 2 hours. (I actually just left mine on my Silpat mat and covered it with plastic wrap, but allowed enough space for it to rise. The Silpat made it easy to turn out the dough into the pan after the final rise. If you are using a plastic bowl, be sure not to touch your plastic bowl onto the hot pan or you will melt it.)
Midway through the final rise, preheat your oven as well as the 3 to 4-quart pot and lid to 450 degrees for 1 hour. After the dough has risen for about 2 hours, remove the hot pan and lid from the oven and quickly dump the dough into it. It should now be seam-side up. Replace the lid on the pot and bake the dough covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake it for 15 to 20 minutes longer. Be sure to check it after 15 minutes to ensure it isn’t burning.
Now comes the most difficult part. Remove the bread from the oven and turn it out onto a cooling rack. It will be smelling divine and beckoning you with its golden brown color and crackling crust as it cools. You MUST allow it to cool fully! Do not give into temptation and cut into it early. It is best to give it at least an hour before stealing your first slice.
Want to make a good thing even better? I like to peel about 20 or so larger garlic cloves and put them in a very small oven-safe dish. I then pour about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over top, sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper, and stir to combine. I cover the dish with aluminum foil and quickly place it in the oven alongside the bread after it has been baking for about 15 minutes. I cook the garlic for about half an hour total and remove it from the oven when it is golden brown and the cloves are very soft. Using a fork, mash the garlic into the olive oil. This makes a great topping to spread on slices of your freshly baked bread.
No Knead Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp. kosher salt (Do not use regular table salt, or your bread may become too salty.)
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm (not hot) water
Combine the dry ingredients together in a large plastic or glass bowl. Pour in the water and stir just until mixed. Shaggy dough should form. Cover the bowl (I use a very large Tupperware bowl) and allow it to sit on the counter for about 18 hours. The dough is ready when it becomes covered in bubbles and when you can see the strands of gluten forming when you tip the bowl. Your dough will be very wet and sticky. That is how it should be.
Sprinkle the work surface (I like to use my Silpat so that the dough doesn’t stick) with a mixture of about 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornmeal. Scrape dough out onto the floured surface and fold it four times like you would a letter–once from 3 and 9 towards the middle and once from 6 and 12. Place dough back into the bowl seam-side down and cover again, allowing it to rest for another 2 hours. (I actually just left mine on my Silpat mat and covered it with plastic wrap, but allowed enough space for it to rise. The Silpat made it easy to turn out the dough into the pan after the final rise. If you are using a plastic bowl, be sure not to touch your plastic bowl onto the hot pan or you will melt it.)
Midway through the final rise, preheat your oven as well as the 3 to 4-quart pot and lid to 450 degrees for 1 hour. After the dough has risen for about 2 hours, remove the hot pan and lid from the oven and quickly dump the dough into it. It should now be seam-side up. Replace the lid on the pot and bake the dough covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake it for 15 to 20 minutes longer. Be sure to check it after 15 minutes to ensure it isn’t burning.
Now comes the most difficult part. Remove the bread from the oven and turn it out onto a cooling rack. It will be smelling divine and beckoning you with its golden brown color and crackling crust as it cools. You MUST allow it to cool fully! Do not give into temptation and cut into it early. It is best to give it at least an hour before stealing your first slice.
Want to make a good thing even better? I like to peel about 20 or so larger garlic cloves and put them in a very small oven-safe dish. I then pour about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over top, sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper, and stir to combine. I cover the dish with aluminum foil and quickly place it in the oven alongside the bread after it has been baking for about 15 minutes. I cook the garlic for about half an hour total and remove it from the oven when it is golden brown and the cloves are very soft. Using a fork, mash the garlic into the olive oil. This makes a great topping to spread on slices of your freshly baked bread.
