No-Knead Bread

I've been skeptical of the 'no knead' recipes circulating online. Kneading dough causes intricate gluten chains to form, which gives bread it's springy, rich texture. After several sources that I trust praised the no-knead technique I figured I'd give it a try, and I'm happy that I did.

This recipe takes just a few minutes to mix together, but the real key is letting it sit overnight. The incredibly long rise time gives the tiny amount of yeast enough time to create an incredible array through the magic of fermentation. The moist dough baked up easily to form a rich, golden crust.

Breads

Prep: 20 min
Rise: 18-24 hours
Cook: 45-60 min
Total: About 26 hours
Yields 1 loaf

Nutritional Info

T1D Carbs-per-gram ratio: 0.5035

* Multiply serving weight in grams by the carbs-per-gram ratio to calculate the total estimated carbs.

Dough
570g / 20 ounces bread flour (about 3 ½ cups)
10g / 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2g / ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.
1 5/8 cups water (13 fluid ounces)
Add water and stir until combined. The dough will be very sticky and unfinished.
Rising
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 18 to 24 hours at room temperature. The dough is ready to shape when the surface is dotted with bubbles.
Shaping
1 tablespoon flour
Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands, quickly and gentle shape dough into a ball.
2 tablespoons flour or cornmeal
Coat a clean towel or baking sheet with flour or cornmeal. Place dough seam side down, dust with more flour or cornmeal, and cover with plastic wrap.
Let dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Baking
After 1 hour of rising, place a 5- to 8-quart heavy pot (cast iron or enamel) in the oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
Once dough has completed it's second rise, using pot holders careful remove the pot from the oven. Remove plastic wrap from dough and careful dump dough into the pot. Shake pot as necessary to even out dough. Put lid back on the pot and return to oven.
Bake at 450°F for 30 minutes. Remove lid from pot and continue to bake until bread is browned and an instant read thermometer inserted into the dough reads 195°F, about 15 additional minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack until room temperature, about 2 hours. Slice, serve, and savor every bite.

From MakeBetterFood.com. Jun 4, 2012. (makebetterfood.com/recipes/no-knead-bread/). Adapted from NYTimes.com. Also adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery