Get the Recipe: Mark Bittman's No-Knead Bread
Ingredients
(Makes one 1 1/2-pound loaf)
- 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 teaspoon instant rapid rise yeast
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 5/8 cups water, at about 120 (F)
Equipment
- plastic wrap
- 2 cotton towels (not terry cloth; I recommend old-fashioned flour sack towels)
- one 6- to 8- quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic; I used my roommate's cast iron Dutch oven)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon yeast, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and use your hand to quickly stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at a warm room temperature of 70 degrees. If your house is a little colder, the dough might need a few more hours.
- The 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 over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
- Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface and your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a non-terry cloth cotton towel with flour; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for another 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.
- At least half an hour before the dough is ready, put your 6- to 8-quarter heavy covered pot in the oven. Preheat the oven (with the pot inside) to 450 (F) degrees. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from the oven -- WATCH OUT. THE POT IS VERY HOT AT THIS POINT. Slide your hand under the towel and turn dough over into the pot, seam side up. It may look like a mess, but that's okay. Shake pan once or twice if the 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 the loaf is beautifully browned. Use a spatula or tongs to remove the bread from the pan and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Adapted from the online version
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