NO-KNEAD CRUSTY WHITE BREAD RECIPE
The
most basic of all no-knead loaves, this is a wonderful way to get into
yeast-bread baking. If you're a first-time bread-baker, you'll never believe
this bread came out of your own oven. And even if you're a seasoned bread
baker, you'll love this recipe's simplicity.
Prep
Time : 5 to 10 mins
Cook
Time : 30 to 40 mins
Total
Time : 4 hours 35 mins to 7 days 50
mins
Servings : 3-4 loaves, depending on size
INGREDIENTS
·
3
cups lukewarm water
· 6
1/2 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Organic
All-Purpose Flour
·
1
tablespoon salt
·
1
1/2 tablespoons instant or active dry yeast
·
See
"tips", below
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Combine
all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, or a large (6-quart), food-safe
plastic bucket. For first-timers, "lukewarm" means about 105°F, but
don't stress over getting the temperatures exact here. Comfortably warm is
fine; "OUCH, that's hot!" is not. Yeast is a living thing; treat it
nicely.
2. Mix
and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a
stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds.
If you don't have a mixer, just stir-stir-stir with a big spoon or dough whisk
until everything is combined.
3. Next,
you're going to let the dough rise. If you've made the dough in a plastic
bucket, you're all set — just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid
or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. If you've made the
dough in a bowl that's not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large
bowl; it's going to rise a lot. There's no need to grease the bowl, though you
can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it's time
to bake bread.
4.
Cover
the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you're
pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the
fridge). The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it'll get; if you
chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first
day or so, it'll rise, then fall. That's OK; that's what it's supposed to do.
5. When
you're ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will
make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3
of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It'll be
about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.
6.
Plop
the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a
longer log. Don't fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you
can.
7. Place
the loaf on a piece of parchment (if you're going to use a baking stone); or
onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of
flour over the top; this will help keep the bread moist as it rests before
baking.
8.
Let
the loaf warm to room temperature and rise; this should take about 60 minutes
(or longer, up to a couple of hours, if your house is cool). It won't appear to
rise upwards that much; rather, it'll seem to settle and expand. Preheat your
oven to 450°F while the loaf rests. If you're using a baking stone, position it
on a middle rack while the oven preheats. Place a shallow metal or cast iron
pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of
hot water ready to go.
9.
When
you're ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times,
making a cut about 1/2" deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that's OK,
it'll pick right up in the hot oven.
10.Place
the bread in the oven — onto the baking stone, if you're using one, or simply
onto a middle rack, if it's on a pan — and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water
into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. It'll bubble and steam; close the
oven door quickly.
11.Bake
the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it's a deep, golden brown.
12.Remove
the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a
plastic bag at room temperature.
TIPS
FROM OUR BAKERS
§ The flour/liquid ratio is important
in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup,
then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 1/2 cups. If you measure flour by
dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 1/2
cups. Most accurate of all (and guaranteed to give you the best results), if
you measure flour by weight, use 32 ounces. Using the same ratio/measuring, you
can make a half-recipe if you prefer. While it's great to have dough on hand,
it's fine to make less.
§ Want to try this with whole wheat
flour? You can absolutely make up to half of the total flour whole wheat,
either our Premium or white whole wheat flours. Add an additional 2 teaspoons
water per cup of whole wheat flour to prevent the dough from being too dry.
§ Would it be better to use bread
flour here? Bread flour has more gluten-forming protein, so if you choose to
use it in this recipe, the crust will be a bit thicker and you won't get quite
the same open-holed structure as with all-purpose. We really prefer the texture
of both crust and crumb when all-purpose flour is used. If you do use bread
flour, increase the water by about 2 teaspoons per cup of flour to make the
requisite sticky dough.
§ Want to cut this recipe in half? Go
right ahead; simply reduce each ingredient by 50%, including the yeast, and
proceed as directed.
§ For super-crusty artisan-style
bread, try baking your dough in a Dutch oven. See the details in our blog post:
Bread baking in a Dutch oven: the best way to bake no-knead bread.
§ Our thanks to Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë
François, whose wonderful book, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a
Day," is the inspiration for this recipe.
NUTRITION
Serving
Size : 1 slice Servings Per
Batch : 12 per loaf
Amount Per
Serving:
Calories
100 cal Calories from Fat
5 Total Fat 0g
Saturated
Fat 0g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium
220mg Total Carbohydrate
20g Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 0g Protein 4g
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com
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