I'm certain that I’ve made more than 1000 loaves of bread in my lifetime: plain white bread, whole wheat, rye, corn, oatmeal, sourdough – you name it and I’ve probably made it. Long before bread makers were invented, I was making bread the old fashion way.
The thing about bread was that there was almost always a lot of kneading and it took so darned long to make a good loaf. Consistency was also a problem. I never could be sure that each loaf would turn out well. Some rose, and some didn’t. Sure, breadmakers made it easier, but who really likes those rectangular loafs with the hole in the botton from the mixing tool?
Well, I'm here to tell you that I've recently discovered a type of no-knead bread that hands down beats any kind of bread I've made in the past. Really. This bread is slso as good, if not better than, anything you can purchase in your local bakery.
Not only that, but it's a snap to make.
Where did I find the recipe? It's from the New York Times.
Here’s the simple recipe:
3 cups of flour in a big bowl
Add 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast
Add 1 teaspoon of table salt
Mix (I generally just use my hand and swish it around in the bowl.)
Add 1-1/2 cups of lukewarm water.
Mix (Again, I generally just use my hand. Those who mind sticky fingers can use a wooden spoon.)
Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12 – 20 hours.
Dump it out onto a floured surface and shape into a ball. Let it set for two hours covered with a floured cloth.
1/2 hour before your bread has risen, put your covered pot into the oven and let it preheat to 450 degrees. Open up the pot and dump in the risen bread and cook covered for 30 minutes. Take off the cover and cook an additional 15 or 20 minutes. Done.
(Then get ready to eat the best bread you’ve ever made. No kidding.)
Your finished bread should look something like this (picture taken from linked article below from the Steamy Kitchen):
(As usual, I'm late to the party since this recipe was printed nearly two years ago.) I can't begin to describe just how good this bread comes out – all with only a minimal effort.
The complete NYTimes article is here.
There's also an excellent video about it:
Mark Bittman from the New York Times watches as Jim Lahey from Sullivan Street Bakery shows him how to make bread that is so easy “a 6–year old can do it.”
For those who prefer lots of pictures instead of a YouTube video, here’s an excellent article from the Steamy Kitchen written about a year after the original recipe was printed in the New York Times. (If you have time, take a look at some of the comments.)
And this bread is so easy. I’ve been making loaf after loaf for the last month. I’ve made all white bread, whole wheat, corn, rye — and they’ve all come out well. The loafs come out European-style with a hard crust and the interior is soft, chewy and light.
We like it so much at the house that there’s always at least two loafs available. I’ve been making a new loaf every couple of days.
The only thing you need to really be concerned about in making this bead is the pot. The bread gets its crispy, hard crust from being cooked in a very hot oven. You need to be sure that the pot you choose can withstand 450F. Cheap pots aren’t safe to use in that hot of an oven. It’s recommended that you use some type of dutch oven type pot: 5-qt or larger. It can be cast iron, ceramic, Pyrex, stainless steel or an enamel pot. (I made my first several loafs in a ceramic turkey pan and it worked just fine. I’ve since purchased a cast iron pot that has made it a little easier.)
I urge you to try it, even if you’ve never made a loaf of bread before in your life. If you follow the simple recipe, you’ll be delighted with the results. And in these difficult economic times, wouldn’t you like to have fresh, homemade bread for only pennies a loaf?
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