No Knead Bread
For our Early Childhood Director, Terri, this No Knead Bread recipe is her go-to for the easiest and best, rustic crusty loaf to make at home. Once you get the hang of it, you can have a bowl of dough sitting on the counter, ready to go at all times. Adapted from Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhanttan.
Prep Time: 18 to 26 hours
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1½ cups plus 2 tbsp water
- ¼ tsp instant yeast (or use about ⅓ tsp regular active dry yeast)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl stir together the flour, yeast, and salt.
- Add 1½ cups plus 2 tbsp water.
- Stir 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 to 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, then roughly shape into a ball.
- Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour.
- Fold towel over the bread or cover with another cotton towel and let it sit for another hour or two.
- While the bread is resting, preheat the oven to 450°.
- Put a six- to eight-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, or ceramic) in oven as it heats.
- When the dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven.
- Slide your hand under towel and flip the dough over into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that’s okay.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until it’s golden
- Enjoy and eat up!
