I Need No-Knead Bread!

Out of everything I make, I feel most accomplished when I finish baking bread.   Whether it’s from the bread machine or spending hours kneading and letting it rise, it is the feeling of being able to make the oldest form of sustenance and the most basic cupboard staple.  I am a big fan of my bread machine and make my weekly loaf of bread every Sunday.  Thanks to my bread machine, I haven’t bought bread in months!  Crazy! 

For Christmas, Santa dropped a Lodge cast-iron Dutch oven and Jim Lahey’s book “My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method” down the chimney (just imagine the clatter that arose after that!).  Jim Lahey’s method involves letting the bread rise for 12-18 hours, having the yeast do the job of the kneader.  I highly suggest the book as it explains the magic behind baking bread.   He has many recipes in the book including Coconut-Chocolate Bread, Pizzas and Focaccias, and other food recipes.  He suggests, before attempting any of his other recipes to try the world-renowned “The Lahey Method for No-Knead Bread in a Pot” which I did and is as follows:

The Players:

3 cups of bread flour
1 ¼ teaspoons of table salt
¼ instant or other active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups of cool water
wheat bran, cornmeal or additional flour

The first thing I notice is the amount of yeast required compared to the machine bread.  I believe it has to do with the 18 hours of rising so it is unnecessary to use as much yeast (1 ¼ in most cases) – you don’t want your bread to become the Incredible Hulk.  Also, Lahey (as well as all other bakers) suggests you use a food scale.  Well, I don’t have one and since he mentioned there is a lot of leeway when it comes to his recipe, I didn’t worry about not using one.  The only thing I needed to vary was the amount of water.  It seemed like I needed a good ¼ cup more but that could’ve been because I didn’t use weight as a measurement for the flour resulting in too much.  

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add the 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.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. With a bowl scraper or rubber spatula, scrape the dough onto a gently floured work surface.  When you pull the dough out of the bowl you will notice long, thin strands which represent the developed gluten – a good thing so you do not need to add additional flour!  Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball folding the dough into itself.

3. 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.

4. 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.  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.

This recipe is so easy!!  The only difficult part is planning your 18 hours.  If you start it at 9PM and let it rise it should be finished about 3PM the next day.  This is best done on the weekend.  I love this recipe.  When the bread comes out of the cast-iron pot it tastes as if you were camping (and some shmuck besides you had to carry the cast iron pot) and it was fresh off the fire.  This bread is crusty and crunchy on the outside and after cooling an hour has a delicious, perfect center.  I rarely have things turn out like they do in the pictures but this bread is picture-perfect!  As a side note: the book has the most beautiful and mouth-watering pictures of bread.

Try the recipe.  Buy the book.  I highly recommend both.  Thanks Santa!!!  I will be baking other recipes from the book eventually and will post those, as well!!

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