Happy National Homemade Bread Day!

My niece made this lovely bread from Jim Lahey, the man who started the no-knead bread craze.

 

She said it was  so awesome!  No kneading, little time hands on, but lots of waiting….

No-Knead Bread

adapted from Jim Lahey,  NY Times 2006
Yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups 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. 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.

3. 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.

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; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. 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.

She said it was chewy, airy, and had a crispy crust.  Very good.

Thanks Megan for sharing your yummy and beautiful bread with me! If you liked this bread you might also like this Zuppa Toscana soup!


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Comments

  1. I love your site! When I saw the no knead bread this morning I had to comment because our family has made this bread now almost every week for about two years!! It’s amazing! So easy, so delicious. We just recently tried grating cheddar cheese on top before it goes in the oven…the results where fabulous. Everyone should give this a try, it’s so awesome!

  2. That looks sooooo good. And So easy- I just might be able to pull it off! I will have to try soon!

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