No-Knead Bread
 
 
This no-knead bread offers the perfect blend of a crispy outer crust with a warm, soft middle.
Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
  • 3 cups flour (or bread flour), plus more for dusting
  • ¼ tsp. instant yeast
  • 1 ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1⅝ cups water. Stir until blended. Dough will be quite sticky and somewhat shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at least 12 hours, preferably 18 hours, at warm room temperature. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
  2. Lightly flour a work surface and dump dough from the bowl. (I use my pastry mat, which is just right for this purpose!). Sprinkle the dough with flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest about 15 minutes.
  3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (no terry cloth) with flour. Place dough seam-side down on towel and dust with more flour. Cover with another cotton towel and let it rise for 2 more hours. Dough will be more than double in size and won’t readily spring back when you poke it with your finger.
  4. At least half an 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…I used my stoneware bowl) in the oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. It might look like a mess, but that’s okay. Shake pot once or twice to evenly distribute dough, if necessary.
  5. Cover pot (or, in my case, bowl) with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes (did I not tell you it was time-intensive at the end?). Crust will be a beautiful brown when it’s done. Remove loaf from pot and let it cool on a rack. (This is an important step, because the bread will be piping hot!)
  6. Cut up bread and serve with olive oil, butter, or your favorite berry preserve. Delicious!
Recipe by Simple Life and Home at http://www.simplelifeandhome.com/2699/food/breads/no-knead-bread/