Recipe: No-Knead Bread

[zhanae]

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

[SarahS]

Neat! I want to try that!

[zhanae]

I read a site that gave it great reviews, so I'm eager to try it too!

[preppiechick]

Cooks illustrated tweaked the recipe last year. I have made it a lot and it is easy and phenomenal!!!! Their version solved an issue that many had, with the dough being too wet and hard to get consistent results. They also added a trick, of using a little beer...it boasts the yeast flavor and helps in rising. It is really good...like artisanal (read:expensive!) bread. You really do need the cast iron dutch oven, but then again, EVERYONE needs one of these! I am only posting the link, because it is members only, but you can join for free, for 14 days, then cancel, if you want the recipe. It is one of my very favorite cooking magazines and sites!

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/reci...sp?docid=11829

other versions are available, also:

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/sear...r =srelevance

[Deborah]

This stuff really is good, it cooks up with a nice crust and it is to die for! The dutch oven is vital to a good product unless you happen to have one of those pizza type ovens.

[AndreaCA]

This recipe rocks! I discovered it about a year ago and it is a family favorite. I actually printed up several copies of the recipe to give to guests. Everytime I serve it to someone outside the family, I have to give them the recipe!

FYI, if you don't have a dutch oven, a turkey roaster works just fine! I also make this with WW flour and it gets devoured the same as the white.

[shalym]

I need to try this--I broke my shoulder a few weeks ago and haven't been able to bake any bread because I couldn't knead it. I've been thinking about getting a bread machine since the dr says it may be a year before I have full use of the arm back, but for some reason bread from a bread machine never tastes the same to me as bread made by hand. How much can this recipe be altered? I like to add things to my bread depending on my mood--sometimes cinnamon, or roasted garlic, or fruit, or...

Has anyone played with yummy additions to the dough? If so, when would they be added? For solids like fruit, etc, I add just before the final rising. I would imagine that it would work the same with this?

Shari
(off to play with some dough)

[studergal]

Shalym, I use my bread machine on the dough cycle to mix the bread and do the first kneadings, then put in in bread bans for the final rising rising and bake it in the oven. It tastes better, has a better texture and has the shape of bread, not the square loaves from the bread machine. I got the bread machine cheap at a yard sale several years ago. I do plan to try this no knead bread, though. I don't have a cast iron dutch oven so will try my roasting pan.

[Susie]

This sounds as if it would be good with just a bit of rye flour tossed into the mix, too.