The No-knead Bread method of bread baking is one that uses a very long fermentation time, usually ranging from 18-24 hours. As the name suggests there is no kneading involved. The gluten strands that gives the bread its texture is formed from the long, slow rise of the dough at room temperature. Only 4 ingredients - all-purpose or bread flour, salt, yeast and water - are used to make this bread. The ingredients are mixed and let sit for at least 18 hours (although some bakers have let their dough sit for less) and proofed for 2 hours (again, some bakers proof for only 30 minutes) before it is baked in a covered dutch oven for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes to get the rusty colour. The dough is wet and looks shaggy when mixed. However, we should not add too much flour when handling the dough or else the bread will be dense.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/2 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- Add all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Stir them up so that they are mixed evenly.
- Add the warm water to the bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients and warm water up till they form a shaggy dough.
- Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let the dough sit at room temperature for 18 hrs.
- Flour the counter-top.
- Tip the dough onto it. Add some flour on top of the dough.
- Shape & put it on parchment paper.
- Put the parchment paper with dough into a bowl to hold the shape of the dough.
- Proof for 2 hrs.
- Heat up a dutch oven for 30 min at 230 deg C.
- Transfer parchment paper with dough into the pre-heated dutch oven.
- Bake the dough for 30 minutes with the lid on and a further 10-15 minutes with lid off.
- Let the bread cool down before slicing.