No-Knead Bread

Easy and delicious. This bread takes some time – best prepared a day ahead of baking – but it is so easy and so tasty.

Ingredients

• 3 c (710 mL) water
• 1 1/2 T yeast (I have used both regular and rapid yeast)
• 1 1/2 T kosher salt
• 6 1/2 c (910 g) all-purpose flour
• Flour, cornmeal, or parchment for the peel
• 1 c boiling water (for steam in the oven)

Method

1. In a large container with a lid (5 qt) put the water, yeast, salt, and flour. Mix well with a Danish whisk, spoon, or the paddle attachment from a stand mixer until a uniform dough forms.
2. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rise at room temperature for about 2 hours.
3. You can shape and bake at this point, or you can refrigerate the dough for up to 14 days. The dough is easier to work with (and tastier) after at least 5 hours of refrigeration.
4. When ready to bake, prepare a pizza peel or baking sheet with flour, cornmeal or parchment paper to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the surface of the dough in the container with flour. Use kitchen shears or a serrated knife to cut off a piece of dough, approximately 1 lb (455 g). Cover the remaining dough.
5. Using floured hands, gently pull the dough into a ball and use the surface of the counter to seal the bottom into a ball shape. This process should take 20-40 seconds.
6. Place the dough onto the prepared pizza peel and allow to rest for 60 minutes. In the meantime, place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet near the center of the oven and a broiler pan on the lower rack, toward the bottom. Preheat the oven to 450F.
7. After the dough has rested, sprinkle it liberally with flour and slash a deep cross or four parallel lines into the surface of the dough.
8. Slide the dough off the peel or baking sheet onto the hot stone / inverted baking sheet. Immediately pour 1 cup of boiling water into the broiler pan and shut the door.
9. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is richly browned and firm to the touch. Allow to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.

Notes:
I’ve made this bread many times, and I usually just make the dough and let it sit overnight before baking. Letting it rest in the refrigerator overnight helps develop a lot of flavor.

The recommended size of the loaf is, in my opinion, fairly small. If you’re making a 1 lb loaf, you may end up going through the whole thing in a day. If you want to feed a group, double or triple the size that you are baking, and extend the baking time.

This also makes a good baguette. If you make baguettes or mini-baguettes, the shaping and bake time are different.

This dough can also be used as a base for pizza.