With this recipe in hand, you can skip the bread aisle at the grocery store.
Photo by Iuliia Nedrygailova
MAKES ONE LOAF (8½ x 4½ inches)
1¾ cups water, room temperature
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
3½ cups bread flour
In a large bowl, stir water, salt and yeast together to combine. Add flour and stir into wet mixture with the handle of a wooden spoon until it forms a ball. Scrape sides of bowl and continue to stir until all flour is incorporated into the dough ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dry area or lighted oven. Proof dough for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.
Spray an 8½ x 4½ loaf pan with vegetable spray. Scrape dough onto a clean, floured work surface. Sprinkle top of dough with flour and—with floured hands—fold dough over onto itself (sides, then top and bottom) until smooth, about 2 times. Gently pat dough with hands into a disc. Fold one-third of dough to the center and then the other one-third over that. Place, seam side down, into loaf pan. Cover and proof again for one hour.
Preheat oven to 450 F for at least 30 minutes. When ready to bake, sprinkle dough again lightly with flour. Using a bread lame or serrated knife, score bread on top. Bake dough for 30–35 minutes until lightly brown on top.
___
What is a bread lame? A razor-sharp blade used to make cuts in bread dough. A paring knife or scissors will drag the dough, whereas a lame will make clean cuts.
___
What’s cooking at SCLiving.coop
No-knead breads: Part I—Grab your apron and go back in time to September 2020 and explore Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan’s first batch of no-knead bread recipes, including an experimental recipe for charcoal bread.
No-knead breads: Part II—If the pandemic had a silver lining, it was the chance to experiment in the kitchen. Chef Belinda’s escape was no-knead bread baking, and now she can’t stop. Here are some of her new favorites.