Low Knead Bread Recipes

LOW-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 to get most of the dough into the bowl, then invert a tall-sided medium metal or glass bowl and place it on top of the large bowl, tapping it to ensure a tight seal. Allow the dough to rest for 20 to 40 minutes.
• Fold the dough: After the dough has rested, remove the inverted bowl. The dough should look very wet and sloppy. Dip your hands briefly in a bowl of water, then shake off the excess. Using one hand, scoop your fingers under one side of the dough to the very bottom of the bowl and, working quickly, lift that side, stretch it a few inches, and fold it over to the opposite side. Rotate the bowl and repeat, 4 to 6 times, until you've worked all the way around the dough. (The dough will become noticeably tighter and a little more difficult to stretch with each fold.)
• Lift the dough and flip it over. Cover the bowl with the inverted bowl and allow to continue resting. Repeat this every 20 to 40 minutes within the first 2 to 3 hours. (No need to be very precise with timing at this stage.) By the last folding step, the dough should be significantly smoother and tighter and resemble a more traditional (albeit slack) bread dough. Cover with the inverted bowl (or a cutting board) then transfer to the refrigerator and let rest at least overnight and up to 3 days.
• Prepare the loaf: At least 3 hours and up to 10 hours before baking, remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature. (It will initially start to rise but may collapse a little bit as it expands. This is OK.) Two hours before baking, wipe out any moisture collected on the inside of 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 vertically over your work surface, using your fingertips to ease the dough away from the bowl until it all tips out.
• Working gently but quickly, fold in the edges of the dough one last time. 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 and place it smooth-side up into the towel-lined bowl. Cover the bowl with a large inverted 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 the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat your 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 into the inside of the larger metal bowl, then invert it onto the baking sheet over the dough ball. 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.

LOW-KNEAD SANDWICH 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.
• Rest the dough: Scrape your dough-covered hand with your clean hand to get most of the dough into the bowl, then invert a tall-sided medium metal or glass bowl and place it on top of the large bowl, tapping it to ensure a tight seal. Allow the dough to rest for 20 to 40 minutes.
• Fold the dough: After the dough has rested, remove the inverted bowl. The dough should look very wet and sloppy. Dip your hands briefly in a bowl of water, then shake off the excess. Using one hand, scoop your fingers under one side of the dough to the very bottom of the bowl and, working quickly, lift that side, stretch it a few inches, and fold it over to the opposite side. Rotate the bowl and repeat 4 to 6 times until you've worked all the way around the dough. (The dough will become noticeably tighter and a little more difficult to stretch with each fold.) Lift the dough and flip it over.
• Cover the bowl with the inverted bowl and allow to continue resting. Repeat this every 20 to 40 minutes within the first 2 to 3 hours. (No need to be very precise with timing at this stage.) By the last folding step, the dough should be significantly smoother and tighter and resemble a more traditional (albeit slack) bread dough. Cover with the inverted bowl (or a cutting board), then transfer to the refrigerator and let rest at least overnight and up to 3 days.
• Lightly oil a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. While the dough is still cold from the fridge, dust it with flour and tip it out onto a generously dusted work surface. Working quickly with lightly floured hands, flatten the dough out into a rough 8-by-8-inch square, then roll it up like a jelly roll, pinching the seam to seal.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, seam-side down. Cover it with a floured kitchen towel, and let rise at room temperature until the dough is crowning over the top of the loaf pan, about 2 hours. At least 30 minutes before baking, adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Brush the top of the loaf with the egg mixture. (You could also sprinkle with coarse salt, spices or seeds at this point, if desired.) Bake until deep brown and the center of the loaf registers 205 degrees, about 35 to 45 minutes.
• Run a knife or a thin metal spatula between the bread and the loaf pan to loosen the loaf, then remove loaf from pan and rest on a cooling rack until completely cool.

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.

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.

ONE-DISH NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in remaining ingredients to form a wet dough; transfer to a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Cover; let stand in a warm place 1 hour., Stir down dough. Cover; let stand 1 hour. Preheat oven to 425°., Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until top is golden brown and a thermometer reads 210°, about 20 minutes longer., Remove bread from baking dish to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.