No-Knead Bread
(Adapted from recipe courtesy of Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, NY, NY)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 tsp instant (rapid-rise) yeast
2 tsp kosher salt*
1-5/8 cups (13 oz) warm water (95° - 110°F)**
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1-5/8 cups warm 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 - 20, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles and you can see well-developed strands of gluten that cling to the side of the bowl when you tilt it. 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.
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 - 3 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least a half-hour before dough is ready (an hour is even better), heat oven to 450°F. Put a 3-qt to 5-qt 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, 1-1/2 pound loaf.
*The original recipe calls for 1-1/4 tsp salt, which doesn't seem to be quite enough so it has been increased to 2 tsp.
**The original recipe also did not call for warm water, but I have found the rise is better if you start off with tepid or warm water from 95° - 110°F.
For the second rise, I choose a bowl that is the same size or slightly smaller than the Dutch oven I will cook the bread in, line it with a cloth dish towel and dust it with flour/cornmeal/bran. By conducting the second rise in a confined shape, it fits better in the Dutch oven than it does when it is allowed to naturally spread out on the counter top.
I also bake the bread in a much smaller cast iron Dutch oven than the original recipe called for, which was a 6 - 8 qt vessel. This yields a higher loaf, more conducive to slicing for sandwiches and toast.
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 tsp instant (rapid-rise) yeast
2 tsp kosher salt*
1-5/8 cups (13 oz) warm water (95° - 110°F)**
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1-5/8 cups warm 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 - 20, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles and you can see well-developed strands of gluten that cling to the side of the bowl when you tilt it. 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.
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 - 3 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least a half-hour before dough is ready (an hour is even better), heat oven to 450°F. Put a 3-qt to 5-qt 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, 1-1/2 pound loaf.
*The original recipe calls for 1-1/4 tsp salt, which doesn't seem to be quite enough so it has been increased to 2 tsp.
**The original recipe also did not call for warm water, but I have found the rise is better if you start off with tepid or warm water from 95° - 110°F.
For the second rise, I choose a bowl that is the same size or slightly smaller than the Dutch oven I will cook the bread in, line it with a cloth dish towel and dust it with flour/cornmeal/bran. By conducting the second rise in a confined shape, it fits better in the Dutch oven than it does when it is allowed to naturally spread out on the counter top.
I also bake the bread in a much smaller cast iron Dutch oven than the original recipe called for, which was a 6 - 8 qt vessel. This yields a higher loaf, more conducive to slicing for sandwiches and toast.
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