no knead bread, bbd #38

 each month, i look forward to the bread baking day challenge.  this month, we are baking no-knead breads thanks to cindystar, our lovely hostess.  if you have paid any attention to baking bloggers in recent months, then you most likely have heard about the no-knead bread from jim lahey of sullivan street bakery in new york city.  it was made famous by none other than mark bittman when he wrote about it in his new york times column.  as skeptical as i am, and trust me i am, i was sure this wasn't going to work out well. bread loaves that aren't kneaded, how could that possibly work out?  then i stumbled upon the recipe posted by jaden hair of the steamy kitchen.  the photos of her too cute 4 year old son andrew making bread had me thinking-if he can do it, certainly i can too.

 i didn't take photos of the bread as i mixed it but this is the dough after sitting for the required 12- 20 hours.  i turned it out, shaped it and wrapped it in a cloth to rest again.

 my thrift store find-an enameled roaster with a cover.  it was a lucky day for me, the roaster was on sale for 50% off which made it less than $7.

 after following the recipe, i had a lovely loaf of bread!

my success with the first loaf and the fact that it disappeared quickly had me baking another loaf in no  time.  for this loaf, i substituted 1/3 of the bread flour with whole wheat flour and it baked up beautifully.  this bread is so easy and inexpensive to make that i intend to try it with different flours and i encourage anyone who makes it to do so as well!

no-knead bread

whole wheat flour adds a little color and texture to the loaf

adapted from the steamy kitchen

1 (8-9") loaf

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/4 teaspoon dry yeast

3 cups bread flour-can substitute up to 1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

mix the ingredients in a bowl until combined.  cover tightly and let it rest at room temperature for 12-20 hours.  when the time is up, use a wet spatula to turn the bread out onto a floured surface.  using that spatula or your hands, turn the outside edges into the center a few times and then gently shape the dough into a ball.  place the ball of dough into a floured towel (not terry cloth) and rise it for 2 hours.

30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 and place a dutch oven, large covered casserole dish or other oven proof pot into the oven.  when the 30 minutes are up, carefully remove the pot from the oven and using your hands, turn the dough out of the towel and into the pot.  never mind how it lands-just put the cover on it and put it in the oven.  bake it covered for 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake until the internal temperature is 210F, about 20-30 minutes.  remove the bread from the pot and cool completely on a rack before cutting.

just in case you are skeptical like me, go to the steamy kitchen and look at the photos of cutie pie andrew making that loaf of bread.  they photographed each of the steps and they make a good reference for the first attempt.

thanks to cindystar for the wonderful challenge!