No Knead Bread is an artisan loaf of bread, delicious, and “crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside”, with no kneading or much effort needed.
No Knead Bread is crusty on the outside…and incredibly soft and perfect on the inside! The best part is there are only a few ingredients and it is really EASY to make! Get it? You don’t NEED to KNEAD it., because it’s no knead bread!
A few years ago I found this recipe for no knead bread in an article in our newspaper’s Food Section. “Wow!”, I thought to myself… “I sure wish I could bake bread like THAT!” So I tried the recipe and the picture of the bread (above) is my very first effort! This bread is amazing!
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At the bottom Of The Page
How I Found This Recipe For No Knead Bread
The article was originally published in the New York Times in 2006, then re-published in The Oregonian, March 13, 2007, which is where I found it. Here’s a quote from the article about this recipe:
“Once mastered in it’s basic form, this bread recipe, originally published in the New York Times, is ripe for adaptation. You can try different flours, though for best results, substitute whole-grain flour for no more than half of the white (and use even less rye flour, which tastes great, but is heavy). Fold fresh herbs or olives into the dough as desired, or enjoy it as it is.” -Leslie Cole
This is one of the most delicious and easy recipes for no knead bread I’ve ever used. Really. It only takes a couple of minutes to mix up the ingredients; you let it rest overnight (so plan ahead!), then the magic happens the next day! The best part is there is NO kneading…yay!
Make The Batter For The Bread The Day BEFORE Baking
You DO need to mix the dough up in a LARGE bowl THE DAY BEFORE you want to bake the bread, so PLAN AHEAD. The mixture looks like just a shaggy mound of dough after combining the ingredients.
Once it has been mixed, cover the dough and bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it sitting out on your kitchen counter in a warm place (with no drafts) for 15-18 hours.
After a good night’s rest (15-18 hours), the dough will have dramatically increased in size, and its surface will be dotted with air bubbles. This is how you can tell the no knead bread dough is ready. Can you see the bubbles on the surface and how much it has risen in the bowl?
Getting The Bread Dough Ready To Bake
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface; sprinkle dough with a little more flour; put some flour on your hands to keep dough from sticking to you, and fold the dough over on itself once or twice (that’s it!). Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rest another 15 minutes, Honestly, this dough must be really tired, because it rests so much.
Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously dust a cotton kitchen towel (not terry cloth – it will stick like crazy!) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough, seam side down on towel and dust the dough with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
Let The No Knead Bread Dough Rise Again
Cover with another kitchen towel and let rise for 2-3 hours (Can you believe how tired this dough is AGAIN?). When it is ready, the no knead bread dough will be more than doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
Baking No Knead Bread
At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Put a heavy, covered pot or dutch oven in the oven as it heats. (*Note: Use cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic – anywhere from 3.5 quarts. to 6-8 quarts.)
When the dough is ready, carefully remove covered pot from oven (remember, the covered pot will be blazin’ HOT). Slide your hands under the dish towel, take aim, and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that’s OK. Some of the dough may even stick to the dish towel. Don’t freak out. Just get as much of that dough ball into the pan as you can, as quickly as you can.
NOTE:**(Cleaning the tea towel up if the dough sticks a bit is really the “hardest” thing about the entire recipe…Just soak it to get some of the dough off, then throw it in the washing machine. I know this from personal experience! ☺)
Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unequally distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Trust me. I’m a grown-up. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes, or until loaf is nicely browned. (Keep an eye on it…mine usually takes about 15 minutes).
Look At The Finished Loaf Of No Knead Bread!
Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it from the hot pan to a wire rack. Let the bread cool a bit before attempting to slice. You can also use a pastry brush to brush off a little of the flour that might still be on the top of the loaf (but is not necessary).
After the bread has cooled down a bit, use a serrated knife to cut the loaf into slices. Here’s a peek at the inside of the no knead bread loaf!
Enjoy. Seriously…grab a knife and slather some softened butter on a warm piece of this bread. Take a bite…a BIG bite. This bread will more than likely make your eyes roll back in your head, it’s so good! Have a great day, and please come back soon.
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Recipe Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, New York City
No Knead Bread is an artisan loaf of bread, delicious, "crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside", with no kneading or too much effort needed to make it.
Category: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: no knead bread
Servings: 10 slices (1 loaf)
Calories Per Serving: 257 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
- 3 Cups bread flour
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (such as Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast) Note: Use INSTANT yeast!
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 Cups , plus 2 Tablespoons tepid (lukewarm) water
- Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed (optional-I didn't need it)
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add the water and stir until blended; dough will be "shaggy" and very sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 hours (I typically rest mine 15-18 hrs.- the longer the better!), at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. After a good night's rest, the dough is ready and its surface is dotted with bubbles.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface; sprinkle dough with a little more flour; put some flour on your hands to keep dough from sticking to you, and fold the dough over on itself once or twice (that's it!). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rest another 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously dust a cotton kitchen towel (not terry cloth - it will stick like crazy!) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough, seam side down on towel and dust the dough with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another kitchen towel and let rise for 2-3 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Put a heavy, covered pot or dutch oven in the oven as it heats. (*Note: Use cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic - anywhere from 3.5 qts. to 6-8 qts.) When dough is ready, carefully remove covered pot from oven (remember, the covered pot will be blazin' HOT). Slide your hands under the dish towel, take aim, and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that's OK. Some of the dough may even stick to the dish towel...don't freak out. Just get as much of that dough ball into the pan as you can, as quickly as you can.
Shake pan once or twice if dough is unequally distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes, or until loaf is nicely browned. (Keep an eye on it...mine usually takes about 15 minutes). Cool the bread on a wire rack.
Prep time does NOT include overnight resting of the dough time. Tip: I find that if I start the recipe in the late morning and let it rest overnight (we all need a good night's "rest", don't we?), I can get up the next morning and continue the process. With additional "resting times" for the dough, it can be ready for dinner.
Cleaning the tea towel up if the dough sticks a bit is really the "hardest" thing about the entire recipe...Just soak it to get some of the dough off, then throw it in the washing machine. I know this from personal experience! ☺
Nutrition Facts
No Knead Bread
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 257 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Sodium 582mg25%
Potassium 70mg2%
Carbohydrates 51g17%
Fiber 1g4%
Protein 8g16%
Calcium 11mg1%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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