Introduction
No-knead bread is a round, crusty white loaf made from flour, water, salt and a pinch of yeast. The dough is stirred together in the evening and left to rise overnight, and the next day it bakes in a covered cast-iron pot. It needs about 15 minutes of work and gives a loaf with a crackling crust from a home oven.
The method was developed by Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York and made famous by Mark Bittman’s article in The New York Times in November 2006. Time does the work of kneading: during the long, slow rise the gluten develops by itself. The hot, covered pot traps the steam like a baker’s oven, which gives the crust.
Ingredients
- 400 g plain or bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 300 ml cool water
- 8 g salt
- 1 g dried yeast (a quarter teaspoon)
Tools
- A large mixing bowl
- A cast-iron pot with a lid (Dutch oven), 4 to 6 litres
- Baking paper or a clean tea towel
Preparation
- Stir the flour, salt, yeast and water in the bowl for about 30 seconds, until no dry flour is left. The dough is wet and shaggy; that is right.
- Cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours, until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough has more than doubled.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface, fold it over itself two or three times into a ball and set it, seam down, on floured baking paper. Cover and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, until it has grown by about half.
- Half an hour before baking, put the empty pot with its lid in the oven and heat to 240 °C (220 °C fan).
- Take out the pot carefully, it is very hot. Lift the dough on its paper into the pot, put the lid on and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the crust is deep brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
- Let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before cutting: the inside is still setting.