No Knead Bread

Imagine this, as you enter your house/flat/apartment, a lovely fragrant earthly smell hits you. You followed the scent and you came across this warm loaf of bread sitting on the kitchen table, calling you. Would you resist?

Baking is amazing. It fills the house with a sweet (or savory) scent. It lingers in your kitchen. Most of all, it's inviting. Baking bread? That's another story. There is something about bread that is so enticing. People reach forward and sink their teeth quickly into fresh bread more than a muffin/cake/slice.

I'm dough shy. Even after watching Jamie Oliver's series on bread making, I was nervous about handling a packet of yeast and bread flour. I linger a few seconds longer at the departmental store where they sell bread making machines, dreaming that one day, I will be able to get my hands on that piece of machinery and wake up to fresh bread in the morning (AR! no, i don't want that for xmas!).

So imagine my excitment when I read Steamy Kitchen's take on No Knead Bread! It's surprising, exciting and most of all... EASY!


Did I make mistakes with this? Did I ever! I misread the recipe and doubled the liquid unknowingly! Silly silly... so what did I do? I added in more flour and baked TWO loafs of bread. Do check your oven temperature as well. My first loaf was a little over done (but still fluffy inside) but the 2nd loaf was perfect when I lowered the temperature to 180C. I think my oven is going through menopause- there are times when she gets hot flushes and the heat turns up before heading down.

I hope Jaden don't mind me sharing this recipe with you. Do drop by her blog to see her adorable and very very handsome little boy baking bread. Definitely a recipe to keep. If you are having a dinner party, and serving some bread, imagine their look of awe when you serve FRESH slices of baked bread.....

No Knead Bread

adapted from Jaden from Steam Kitchen who adapted it from Mark Bittman of NY Times who got it from Sullivan Street Bakery

Yield: one 1½ lb loaf
3 cups bread flour (I used multigrain)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon sea salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water
Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel…something that can go into a 450F oven.)

1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, dump wobbly dough into pot. Doesn’t matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter. I had mine with Spicy Mango Chutney!