Long, long ago I wrote about the No-Knead Bread Craze. I wrote out how I’d been making this basic recipe and added some ideas for adapting the recipe. Now, however, I’m going to present to you, not only an adjustment on ingredients and measurements, but also a greatly improved method. Because, really, who’s got a million clean tea towels on hand ready to be caked with bread dough? And who among us wants to lose all their lovely bubbles when the risen dough is unceremoniously dumped into the hot pot? And what crazy person is sitting around thinking how great it would be if they could only spend fifteen minutes scraping crusted dough off their counter? Not me, is the answer to all these questions. So, I present my new method of Almost No Knead Bread. Still simple (maybe more), still really difficult to mess up, and still extremely delicious. As I said before, this bread is great slathered with salted butter, dipped into soup, or paired with a hearty cheese. Keep in mind that in order to refresh the bread, you’ve really gotta toast the slices after the first day.
Almost No Knead Bread
These are my favorite amounts, but let yourself play around with types and ratios of flour. Also, replacing 1/2 cup of the water with beer tastes good.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
heaping 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. The dough will be quite wet, unlike traditional kneaded bread doughs. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic and set it in a warm part of your house for 10-20 hours (I usually shoot for 18 hours).
Generously dust a clean countertop with about 1/4 cup flour and dump the dough out on the counter. Let it hang out for a few minutes while you rinse out the bowl, which doesn’t have to end up super clean. Let the bowl air dry as you work with the dough. Using a bench scraper, a stiff spatula, or just your well-floured hands, fold the dough on itself over and over, incorporating the flour you’ve put on the counter. The dough will be too wet to knead in the traditional way, but just keep moving it around and folding it for 2-3 minutes until the flour is absorbed.
Line the large, now cleanish, bowl with a single, large sheet of baking parchment. Leave a large overhang of parchment on either side of the bowl, creating a kind of cradle for the dough. Place the dough in the parchment-lined bowl (see picture below). Cover loosely with plastic and set aside in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
About 30 minutes before your rise is complete, place a covered dutch oven (or covered heavy casserole) in a cold oven. Set the oven to 450 degrees. The pot will slowly heat up with the oven. After 30-40 minutes, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Remove the plastic from the bowl. Hold both sides of the baking parchment and lift the dough from the bowl. Place the dough, still in the parchment sling, directly into the hot pot. Some dough on the sides might be in direct contact with the pot, but mostly the parchment will be between the pot and dough.
Replace the lid of the pot and put it back in the oven for 30 minutes. After that time, remove the lid and bake the bread for 15-25 additional minutes, until it’s well browned. Remove the bread from the pot and carefully peel off the parchment. Set the bread to cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before cutting.
Dough rising in parchment-lined bowl
