Thursday, March 15, 2012

Easy No-Knead Bread




I love bread and I love easy.  So this was a recipe I just had to try.  I’m actually one of the rare people left in the world who still uses a bread machine (no I don’t watch movies on a VCR anymore, in case you’re curious) but this recipe is super-easy.  You can use all purpose white flour too if you like.  This requires almost no handling and the way you bake it in a covered pot makes the crust crisp and chewy.


No-Knead Bread
Printable recipe

1½ cups white bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ cups whole wheat bread flour
¼ tsp instant or regular active dry yeast
1½ tsp salt
1½ cups warm water
2 Tbl honey



In a large bowl stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Stir honey into warm water and add to flour mixture, stirring until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let it rest on the countertop for 18-24 hours at room temperature.

The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. 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.  Roughly shape into a ball, putting dough seam side down on board and dust with more flour. Cover completely with a cotton towel and let it sit for another hour or two.

While the bread is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. Put a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, remove pot from oven. Carefully lift and flip the dough over into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that’s OK. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 10-15 minutes, until it’s nice and golden. Eat up!




Because I love it when bloggers take step-by-step photos when they post recipes, I did too.  But I was laughing at myself the whole time.  I wish you could have seen me trying to be all professional.



You can’t handle this dough too much because is it very ‘loose’ and sticky.


I didn’t have a cast iron pot but a heavy-bottomed soup pot with a lid worked really well.  No sticking either!



I love how Jeff put a piece of cheese on the breadboard for this picture.  We are very European.  J'adore le pain!

*Coming soon - a recipe for White Chicken Chili Soup that goes great with this bread!
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