I’ve long thought that bread is witchcraft or voodoo. Or something magical. Mix flour, water, and yeast, maybe a pinch of salt, give it a good knead, then poof. Bread. I’m always intimidated by kneading. What if I under-knead? Or over-knead? What does it take? I don’t know. That’s why I’m thrilled to have discovered no-knead breads. No-knead breads are the way to go. And this is my go-to bread when I plan a day in advance. It’s just so easy and so good. It really can’t get any easier than this. Along with the salted butter ice cream and butternut squash risotto, I made this bread for a Monday night dinner. Make this bread as soon as possible. You won’t regret it. Actually you might. For realizing how easy bread-making can be. One thing you do need for this: a deep, oven-safe dish with a lid. I use an enamel-coated cast-iron dutch oven, but any oven-safe dish will do!
Easiest no-knead bread
3 c. flour
1/4-1 tsp. dry active yeast (depending on how long you are going to let it rise. Remember, the longer the rise, the better the bread. only use 1/4 tsp. if you can let it rise for 24 hours or 1 tsp. for a 12 hour first rise)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 c. water (I’ve found that it usually takes 1-3/4 cups)
Pinch of cornmeal (optional)
1. Stir together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Slowly stir in water until a very sticky dough is formed.
3. Put dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for up to 24 hours.
4. After the rise (when the dough is dotted with tiny bubbles), turn the dough onto a floured cutting board. Fold the dough onto itself. Let sit for 15 minutes. Quickly mold the dough in a nice round ball and cover with a dishtowel (whatever you do, do not use terrycloth as it will stick to the dough). Let rest for 2 hours. In this resting period, the dough won’t really rise at all, so don’t be nervous when you uncover it and it looks the same.
5. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450F. As the oven is heating, place a cast-iron dutch oven or other covered dish in the oven and let it go for about 30 minutes.
6. When the dough is ready, remove the dutch oven, sprinkle some cornmeal on the bottom of the pan, and carefully shimmy the dough from the cutting board into the pan. Put the lid back on and put the covered pot in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on, followed by another 20 minutes with the lid off.
Be patient with this and you will receive the immense satisfaction of a perfect loaf of artisan-looking bread.
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