No Knead Bread
This is the easiest bread recipe you will ever find. It produces, with little effort, a rustic looking bread that looks and tastes great. The only thing this bread needs is time. Time to prove, 10-14 hours, this time is what allows the bread to develop the air bubbles, to produce a delicious loaf with a light crumb full of airy holes.
In Italy this bread used to go by the name of Pane Cafone, or rough bread.
Because of the long proving required, I would suggest you make the mixture at night before you go to bed and bake the next day. You will need a cast iron pot or dutch oven for this recipe, but in all honesty you should buy one anyway, they are so good, I use mine all the time. Just wait for it to go on sale.
You may need to adjust cooking times to suit your oven, I for instance bake mine for 15 minutes after I take the lid off, where the recipe specified 10-15 minutes.
I use bread flour, but you can use plain flour.
When talking scant teaspoons, 1 scant teaspoon means not quite a whole teaspoon but a little less. In cooking, scant refers to an amount that just barely reaching or not packed.
When moving the dough to the pot, I use a cake lifter, like the one pictured. I love it. It makes it so much easier. If you don't have one, just use a knife to loosen any stuck bits, if any and gently transfer the dough into the pot.
In Italy this bread used to go by the name of Pane Cafone, or rough bread.
Because of the long proving required, I would suggest you make the mixture at night before you go to bed and bake the next day. You will need a cast iron pot or dutch oven for this recipe, but in all honesty you should buy one anyway, they are so good, I use mine all the time. Just wait for it to go on sale.
You may need to adjust cooking times to suit your oven, I for instance bake mine for 15 minutes after I take the lid off, where the recipe specified 10-15 minutes.
I use bread flour, but you can use plain flour.
When talking scant teaspoons, 1 scant teaspoon means not quite a whole teaspoon but a little less. In cooking, scant refers to an amount that just barely reaching or not packed.
When moving the dough to the pot, I use a cake lifter, like the one pictured. I love it. It makes it so much easier. If you don't have one, just use a knife to loosen any stuck bits, if any and gently transfer the dough into the pot.
Since learning about this recipe I have not gone to the shops daily to buy bread. I am quite happy to spend 5 minutes after dinner, mixing this recipe, so that I can bake it for the next day. The bread is long lasting also, it keeps well. And toasted it's delicious, just make sure you toast it crispy.
So with little or no effort, here is a bread recipe my family loves, hope yours does to.
So with little or no effort, here is a bread recipe my family loves, hope yours does to.
Recipe
Recipe adapted from silviascucina.net/
Makes 1 loaf
450g plain or bread flour
350ml water, at room temperature
1/2 scant teaspoon dry yeast
2 teaspoons of salt
Makes 1 loaf
450g plain or bread flour
350ml water, at room temperature
1/2 scant teaspoon dry yeast
2 teaspoons of salt
In a bowl mix the flour, water and yeast together with a wooden spoon until combined.
Add salt and mix again. Now using one hand in four to five kneads, mix your dough, to combine the ingredients. I know I say no knead, but four or five turns of the dough doesn't count in my opinion as kneading. Your mixture will look and feel quite sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it prove for 10-14 hours, or until it’s grown three times bigger and looks bubbly.
Dust your cooking bench (or I like to use a timber chopping board big enough to fit the dough on) and your hands with flour and try to shape the sticky mix into a ball. Dust the top of the dough generously with semolina flour. Let it rest for 1 1/2 hours, wrapped loosely in a kitchen towel.
Turn the oven to 220C/200C fan forced. Put in a cast iron pot or a dutch oven, without the lid, to heat up for about 40 minutes.
Gently tip the risen dough in the pre-heated pot, cover with the lid and bake for 25 minutes.
Take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes or until it looks crusty and browned. Take the pot out of the oven and let the bread come to room temperature before you slice it.
Add salt and mix again. Now using one hand in four to five kneads, mix your dough, to combine the ingredients. I know I say no knead, but four or five turns of the dough doesn't count in my opinion as kneading. Your mixture will look and feel quite sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it prove for 10-14 hours, or until it’s grown three times bigger and looks bubbly.
Dust your cooking bench (or I like to use a timber chopping board big enough to fit the dough on) and your hands with flour and try to shape the sticky mix into a ball. Dust the top of the dough generously with semolina flour. Let it rest for 1 1/2 hours, wrapped loosely in a kitchen towel.
Turn the oven to 220C/200C fan forced. Put in a cast iron pot or a dutch oven, without the lid, to heat up for about 40 minutes.
Gently tip the risen dough in the pre-heated pot, cover with the lid and bake for 25 minutes.
Take the lid off and bake for another 15 minutes or until it looks crusty and browned. Take the pot out of the oven and let the bread come to room temperature before you slice it.
Enjoy!
