If you have 5 minutes to spare I beg you to make a bread dough, leave it be for 12-18 hours and then go ahead and bake the most beautiful bread in your own kitchen. The recipe is not my own, as much as I would like to claim it to be. It is something I had seen on plenty of food blogs and was dying to try, and I was so pleased with the result that I have shared it with plenty of friends, all very happy bakers now.
The name “no knead” gives away the method and that is really it; the dough is to be mixed with a wooden spoon until it comes together and that will be enough. The secret to this perfectly, crusty loaf is time. Gluten is what gives bread that lovely, chewy inside and usually that is achieved by kneading the dough for some time. In this recipe it is the proofing time dedicated that lets the proteins in the flour absorb the water and slowly turn in to gluten.
The bread is baked in a very hot cast iron pot with the lid on. As the steam coming out of the dough stays inside the pot the dark crust is developed and this is what makes this bread so special. To tip in a wobbly lump of soft dough in to a pot and put the lid on seems like it has disaster written all over it, but when the lid comes off after 30 min the result is just outstanding.
Go ahead and try it. It is always a crowd pleaser to pull out a fresh loaf of home made bread and the house will smell only delicious.
- 300g water
- 390g plain flour
- 3g dry yeast
- 7-10g salt
- Stir flour, water, yeast and salt together in a large bowl just until it forms a sticky dough. Cover with cling film and let proof in room temperature for 12-18 hours.
- Tip the dough on to a floured surface and gently shape in to a round ball. Place the dough on a very well floured tea towel, wrap it loosely to cover and let proof in a round bowl/basket/strainer.
- Place a cast iron pot in a hot oven, it should be on the highest heat. After about 45min take the extremely hot pot out, lift the lid and gently tip the proofed dough in to it. Put on the lid and put back in to the oven. After 30 minutes take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool down on a wire rack.
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