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Inexpensive, easy homemade baked bread
Anyone can make this inexpensive, crusty baked bread. No kneading required. (No kidding!)
Tue, Mar 10 2009 at 7:09 AM
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Photo: surlygirl/Flickr
Inexpensive, easy homemade baked bread
I was encouraged by an e-mail from one of the readers to try my hand at no-knead bread. In 2006, food columnist Mark Bittman did a piece on this method of making crusty bread that many people were unaware of. After that, making this bread that takes very little work but a whole lot of time, was all the rage with foodies.
That was three years ago, and there is a new crop of foodies, myself included, who missed this phenomena the first time around. I decided to give it a try.
What secret ingredient goes into this no knead bread? None. It doesn’t get simpler than this. Flour, salt, yeast and water.
The results? Look at the pictures. I ended up with a bread that was crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. A great bread to serve with a meal or to dip in olive oil. You’ll notice that the edges of my bread are a little too crispy. Don’t blame the recipe. That’s the result of me needing to be outside on this past beautiful Saturday instead of being in the kitchen watching the bread at the end of its baking. I let the time get away from me and the bread spent a little extra time in the oven.
Still, most of the bread didn’t make it until dinner that night. Every time someone walked through the kitchen, another small piece got sliced off and eaten.
I didn’t end up with the perfect loaf of bread, but I did end up with a darn good loaf, and I’ll be making this again (and again and again). Not only was it easy, it was so inexpensive. Look at these ingredients — it’s maybe 75 cents worth of basics.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of flour (plus more for dusting)
- ¼ tsp yeast (yes, only ¼ tsp)
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- 1 5/8 cups water
Time Estimates
Prep time: 15 min, plus 18 hours to set, and 2 hours to rise
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
How is it done?
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Mix all ingredients together and put in bowl covered in plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for about 18 hours or until the dough is dotted with bubbles.
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Place dough on a floured surface. Turn it over a couple of times on itself, cover with plastic again and let sit for 15 minutes.
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Form the dough into a ball and place on well-floured cotton towel. Cover with another cotton towel. Let it raise for two hours.
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Place in a pot with a lid that has been heated in a 450 degree oven and let bake.
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Yields one loaf of bread.
More details about the instructions such as type of pot and more precise baking instructions can be found here.
I’ve made lots of bread before — in my bread machine. Baking bread in my oven is something I’ve been meaning to try. I’m still going to learn other techniques for baking bread, but I’m definitely going to continue to work with this recipe. I encourage you to give it a try, too.
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If you follow the link under the picture of the bread, there are more detailed instructions. Tells you about what kind of pan and answers all above questions.
This recipe has been floating around for a long time and our family has been enjoying it for a few years. It's super easy, and so delicious. If you have left overs, just put in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes before dinner to crisp up again. Delish with all your winter soups!
After the dough is in the pot - does it go into the oven? Or just bake in the heated pot?
For how long?
Thanks!
Seriously, "place in a pot with a lid that has been ..."?? What on earth does that mean? Please - someone needs to translate.
Heat the pot and lid in a 450 degree oven before you place the dough inside.
So, I place the double-wrapped dough in a pot - say, a cooking pot - that has been heated to 450 degrees? No oven involved... other than to heat the pot. What about the cloth?
The other issue could be the protein content. Flour in the southern U.S. has a lower protein content and is softer to begin with than in the rest of the United States. I run into this problem in reverse quite a bit. Recipes for cakes and breads created in the south--bake up fine in the South--but when I live outside the south--disaster.
Will go longer then. I want a high rise!
How do you print recipe?
Choose file then print from your browser or CTRL + P.
what pot with lid for this bread?
Would this work with whole wheat flour?
Yes, most whole wheat versions of the recipe call for substituting one cup of whole wheat flour for one of the cups of white flour. I have made it using 2 cups of whole wheat and one cup white with great results, and also good results using all whole wheat pastry blend flour. Check out the website www.noknead.com for a wide variety of no-knead bread recipes, including rye, potato, dill, oat and more.
If you have time, try 24 hours instead of 18...and you will be amazed at the crust & height of this bread.