Another No Knead Bread Recipes

NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups/345 grams 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, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
• Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. 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 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, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart 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 OK. 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.

NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the water, and mix by hand or with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until you have a wet, sticky dough. If it is not very sticky to the touch, mix in 1 or 2 more tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 12 to 18 hours at room temperature (approximately 72°F), until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough has more than doubled in size.
• When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto the surface in one piece. As the dough pulls 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, a bowl scraper, or a spatula to lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.
• Generously coat a clean smooth cotton dish towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal. Gently lift the dough and place it seam side down onto the towel, and lightly dust the dough with 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, and when you gently poke it with your finger, it holds the impression. If it doesn't, let rise for another 15 minutes.
• Thirty minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475°F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and place the covered pot in the center of the rack. Carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the dish towel, lightly dust the dough with flour, 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.
• Remove the lid, and continue baking for 15 to 30 minutes more, until the bread is a deep chestnut color. Use a spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot, and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly, for 1 hour or more.

SUPER-QUICK NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• Mix all dry ingredients together.
• Add water and stir in until a really sticky dough has formed.
• Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place to rise.
• Punch down and divide dough into two balls.
• If you are using the cracked wheat, roll the dough balls in the cracked wheat now.
• Place into well greased pans and bake at 400F for 1 hour.
• Cook's note: No need for a second rising as the bread rises perfectly in the oven on baking.

ORIGINAL NO KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on counter top.
• Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450°F.
• Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, dump wobbly dough into pot. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210°F Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350°F oven for 10 minutes.