Almostnokneadbread Recipes

ALMOST NO-KNEAD BREAD 2.0

Steps:

• Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.
• Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times.
• Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle.
• Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.
• About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough.
• Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid.
• Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge).
• Cover pot and place in oven.
• Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes.
• Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 200 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer.
• Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

ALMOST NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt. Now add the water, beer and vinegar. Fold batter using a rubber spatula. Scrape the dry ingredients from the bowl bottom and continue folding until a ragged ball of dough forms. Cover bowl with some plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.
• In a 10-inch skillet, place a 12 x 18 inch piece of parchment paper. Spray parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray. Take the bowl of dough and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough 10 to 15 times. Pull edges of dough from edges into the center to form a ball of dough. Place the dough with the seam side down, into the parchment lined skillet. Spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the dough loosely with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, about 2-hours. The dough should not easily spring back when poked.
• Place a 6 to 8 quart, heavy bottom, Dutch oven with lid, on lowest oven rack. Preheat the oven at 500°F for 1/2 hour. Lightly dust top of dough with flour and then make single 6-inch long, 1/2 inch deep cut on the top of the dough with a sharp knife or razor blade. Take preheated Dutch oven from from the 500°F oven and remove lid. Using edges of parchment paper, pick up dough from frying pan and place into Dutch oven. Allow extra parchment paper to hang out of Dutch oven and cover dough with lid. Return covered Dutch oven to oven and turn temperature down to 425°F Bake bread covered for 30-minutes. Remove lid and continue baking until bread is deep brown and an instant read thermometer, inserted in loaf center, reads 210°F This may take 20 to 30 minutes after removing cover. When done, remove bread from Dutch oven and cool on wire rack for 2 hours, until bread reaches room temperature.

NO-KNEAD ARTISAN STYLE BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the water and herbs, if using, and mix well. The dough will be very sticky and shaggy-looking. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.
• Generously flour a work surface. The dough will have risen and will be covered in bubbles. Transfer the dough to the work surface and dust it with flour. Fold the dough in half, and then form the dough into a ball by stretching and tucking the edges of the dough underneath the ball.
• Liberally flour a kitchen towel (do not use terrycloth). Place the dough ball on the floured towel. Cover with another floured towel. Let the dough rise for about two hours [see footnote].
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a lidded Dutch oven or deep heavy duty casserole dish (with lid) into the oven to preheat.
• Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Remove the lid and gently turn the dough ball into the ungreased baking dish, seam-side up; shake the dish so the dough is more evenly distributed.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the baking dish and let it cool on a rack before slicing.

NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• 1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Make sure it's really sticky to the touch; if it's not, mix in another tablespoon or two of water. Cover the bowl with a plate, tea towel, or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature (about 72 degrees F), out of direct sunlight, until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size. This will take a minimum of 12 hours and (my preference) up to 18 hours. This slow rise-fermentation-is the key to flavor.
• 2. When the first fermentation is complete, generously dust a work surface (a wooden or plastic cutting board is fine) with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto the board in one piece. When you begin to pull the dough away from the bowl, it will cling in long, thin strands (this is the developed gluten), and it will be quite loose and sticky-do not add more flour. Use lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula to lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.
• 3. Place a cotton or linen tea towel (not terry cloth, which tends to stick and may leave lint in the dough) or a large cloth napkin on your work surface and generously dust the cloth with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Use your hands or a bowl scraper or wooden spatula to gently lift the dough onto the towel, so it is seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, making an indentation about 1/4 inch deep, it should hold the impression. If it doesn't, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
• 4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third position, and place a covered 4 1/2-5 1/2 quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.
• 5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel, lightly dust the dough with flour or bran, lift up the dough, either on the towel or in your hand, and quickly but gently invert it into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution-the pot will be very hot.) Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.
• 6. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly. Don't slice or tear into it until it has cooled, which usually takes at least an hour.

UPDATED NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the dough: Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix with your hands until mostly homogenous. Combine the water and vinegar or lemon juice, then add to the bowl. Form one hand into a stiff claw, and stir with it until no dry flour remains and the dough forms a sticky, shaggy ball. Roll the ball around the bowl until most of the dough is part of the same large mass. The mixing process should take no more than 30 to 45 seconds.
• Scrape your dough-covered hand with your clean hand or with a metal or plastic dough scraper to get most of the dough into the bowl, then invert a tall-sided medium metal or glass bowl (or a cutting board) and place it on top of the large bowl, tapping it to ensure a tight seal. Let dough rest at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours at room temperature, 60 to 70 degrees. When the dough is done resting, it should appear very bubbly and wet.
• Shape the loaf: Wipe out any moisture collected inside the medium bowl. Dust a dish towel thoroughly on one side with rice flour or bread flour, then line the medium bowl with the towel, floured-side up. Generously flour your work surface. Sprinkle flour around the edges of the dough in the large bowl, then tilt the bowl over your floured work surface, using your fingertips to ease the dough away from the bowl until it all tips out. (Some bits of the dough will stick to the bowl, this is OK; leave them behind.)
• Working gently but quickly to avoid deflating the dough, using one hand, reach under one side with your fingertips, stretch the dough, and fold it over itself into the center. Repeat three more times until each side of the dough has been folded over the top. Using the sides of your hands instead of your fingertips and as much extra flour as necessary to prevent sticking, flip the dough over. With your palms up and hands placed flat on the work surface, gently tuck the dough together underneath until the top surface is relatively smooth and taut.
• Proof the loaf: Carefully lift the dough, place it smooth-side up into the towel-lined bowl, and dust lightly with rice flour or bread flour. Cover the bowl with a large baking sheet and allow the dough ball to rise until it roughly doubles in volume and doesn't spring back readily when you poke it with a fingertip, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, wash out the large bowl and have it ready.
• Heat the oven: At least 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. When dough is ready, invert the bowl and baking sheet so that the dough is lying on the sheet. (The sheet will end up inverted.) Lift off the bowl and carefully lift off the kitchen towel. If it sticks at all, be very gentle when coaxing the dough off; the goal is to minimize the loss of gases trapped inside.
• Bake the bread: Splash some water inside the larger metal bowl, then invert it onto the baking sheet over the dough. Transfer the whole thing to the oven, reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees, and bake for 25 minutes. Using oven mitts or dry kitchen towels, remove the bowl and continue baking until the loaf is as dark as you'd like it, 15 to 25 minutes longer. Remove the bread, transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely before cutting it open.

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED ALMOST NO KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• Follow directions in videos.
• Baking Instructions: For both these recipes, preheat your oven with Dutch oven or Cloche inside to 500 degrees. Reduce temperature to 425 when the bread dough goes in and bake covered for 30 minutes. Then remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the internal bread temperature reaches about 200 degrees.