GeorgiaPeachesNo Knead bread
In a large glass or ceramic mixing bowl, (NOT metal) combine:
3 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 teaspoons salt (depends on your taste)
1/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast
Mix well to combine dry ingredients
Add:
1 1/2 cups water
Mix well with a spoon. No need to beat this , just get all the flour absorbed - you might need a little extra water if it's very dry where you are. Make sure you purchase instant yeast such as Rapid Rise from Fleischmann's or Quick Rise from Red Star. You only need 1/4 teaspoon, not the whole package. Fold the foil package that the yeast came in and place it in a zipper bag in the refrigerator for the next loaf.
Cover your dough (it will not be very pretty) with plastic wrap and place in a warm place (at least 70 degrees). I find the microwave oven (off, of course) makes an excellent resting place. I usually make this in the evening so I can bake bread the next evening. In some ways, this is easier than conventional bread baking where everything happens in compressed time - you end up baking until 11 at night. With this method, this first step takes just five minutes.
This recipe first appeared in the New York Times in November 2006. Mark Bittman visited the Sullivan Street Bakery where Jim Lahey, who devised this tasty bread and its unique cooking method, demonstrated how to make this bread.
This was one of the most emailed articles from the New York Times, because its simple and results in a magnificant loaf of bread.
Unlike most recipes that have you hunting in speciality stores for ingredients you will never use again, this recipe has four basic ingredients: Flour, water, salt and yeast. No sugar or added fats. And it's inexpensive - one standard package of yeast will make about 6 loaves of bread! I estimate ingredients for this bread cost about 50 cents - you would pay $3.00 to $4.00 for this loaf in an artisan bakery! Plus, there is NO KNEADING! None! Time does all the work in creating the gluten that gives bread its unique structure.
Time and patience are the key elements to making this recipe work. The bread needs 19-24 hours to work its magic prior to baking.
The following is a visual guide to making this delicious bread, based on much experimination with various techniques and tools.
Once your dough has rested for 12 hours, it should be very bubbly and doubled in size. You can choose to stir the dough down and have it rise again if you need to delay the baking process, up to 24 hours or more, especially if you like more of a sourdough taste. Don't worry that there will be spoiling or mold formation. The live yeast are producing carbon dioxide and alcohol, which keeps all the nasty bacteria away, plus they have a hard time with the starch anyway. Another bacteria, lactobacillus, is producing lactic acid, which gives sourdough bread its great tangy taste. I find that if you make the dough in the evening, stirring it down in the morning and then letting it rise again during the day gives excellent results.
This part can be a little sticky and tricky, so be patient. Your dough should be well risen after the 19-24 hour rest period. Sprinkle some flour over the top and start scooping the dough together - use more flour if you need to. Place the dough on a well-floured piece of parchment paper. It MUST be WELL floured, or the dough will stick. Now, simply fold the dough from the sides, and then the top and bottom, like you were folding all four sides to the center, and flip it over. Roll up the top of the parchment paper so the dough has a little covering, like a tent. Parchment paper should be available in any grocery store - you can also use waxed paper
Now, let the dough rest in the paper from 1-2 hours, or until about doubled in size. I usually do this out on the counter
Selecting a proper baking pan means finding a round baking dish that can handle lots of heat and has a lid. In the original recipe, a Le Creuset dutch oven was recommended, in the 4 to 5 quart size. If you have such an implement, by all means use it. This cast iron enameled pot is perfect.
About 1/2 hour before baking, place your baking dish as selected above in a cold oven to pre-heat. You should not need to grease the pan, but you can if you choose to. I have found it unecessary with the Pyrex. Set the oven to 475 degrees - a very hot oven, so be careful! When the oven has reached that temperature, open the oven door and pull out the rack (wearing oven mitts) with your preheated pan. Take the dough in the parchment paper and "plop" it into the pan - PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL AS THE OVEN AND THE PAN ARE VERY HOT!!! It does not need to be all nice and perfect - this is a rustic loaf. Carefully place the lid on the pot and slide slowly back into the oven. Close the oven door and set the timer for 30 minutes.
DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR TO PEEK! If you oven has a window and light, you can watch the bread do its final rise or "oven spring" (if you are using Pyrex). Otherwise, you will have to curb your curiosity. Don't worry if a lot of the flour from the parchment ended up on the bread - it will actually add to the look of the bread when it's finished. Also, remember that when the yeast was "brewing," it was producing alcohol - the very small amount produced will burn off during the baking process. The yeast used in baking is actually the same type used in brewing beer, latin name Saccharomyces cerevisia.
After 30 minutes, open the oven and CAREFULLY remove the pot lid, wearing your oven mitts. Set the lid in a safe place, away from any children or pets, to cool. Close the oven door and set your timer for 20 minutes - oven temperature stays the same at 475 degrees. After 20 minutes, check the loaf to see if it has sufficiently browned. If not, let it bake an additional 5-7 minutes.