I call this bread Easy Bread precisely because it is just that–the easiest damn recipe you’ll ever happen upon… if you have time and lots of it. We’re talking 21 hours, BUT 20 of those hours it’s rising (in two phases), so you just have to let the bowl sit somewhere warm. It’s not like stirring risotto constantly for a half hour. This No Knead Bread recipe is one of The New York Times‘ most-shared recipes, so when our friends were coming over for dinner and I’d wanted to make this French Onion Braised Chicken (smothered in broiled Gyurere–yum), I thought I’d give my hand at the classic.
I’ll be honest though: I don’t like bread. I just don’t. I’ve never liked bread baskets at restaurants, toast at breakfast (or worse, at other meals!), and I’ve never even been fond of sandwiches so the facultative role bread plays in those is also lost on me.
But B and the boys LOVE bread. They snack on it, they eat it as dessert with cinnamon and sugar, and they gladly eat pizza crust. So I figure it’s best to know how to make a good loaf or two. I mean, the boys love buttered slices of bread in their lunches. Just. Bread. Anyway, this is how our bread conversation went last week:
D: Let’s make some bread this weekend!
Me: Okay, we can do that. If you promise to focus.
D: I promise. Can you just do the first round? I’ll do the rest.
Me: This recipe is literally all in the first round. How are you going to help it rise for 20 hours?
D: 20 hours? Yeah, I’m out.
And that’s how I came to make (by myself) a surprisingly beautiful fresh rustic loaf of bread. And I think I might be in love.
You’re going to love this recipe, if you don’t already. It’s just measuring and mixing a few ingredients in one-bowl, and throwing a cover over it for a near day. Apparently it’s the long, slow rise that gives it its pillowy texture and the heated cast iron pot that gives it its incredible crust. Trust me, once you make this you’ll never turn back. My goal is to get D to start one of these every Saturday in preparation for the week.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20 hours |
| Servings |
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- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp instant yeast
- 1.5 cups room temperature water
Ingredients
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- Whisk the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl until they're well-mixed. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the water. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients inwards until you form a shaggy, sticky dough. You'll think it's too sticky, but rest assured it's supposed to feel and look like that.
- Cover the bowl with a cotton towel and place it in a warm place (roughly 72 degrees) to slowly rise for the next 18 hours. In the winter, I like to stash it in my (off) oven. After the first rise is complete, turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and fold it over itself once. Place the dough, seam-side down, back into the bowl for a second rise. Cover the bowl with a cotton towel once again and place it back in a warm place to rise for 2 more hours.
- Thirty minutes before the second rise is over, place an enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven in your oven and pre-heat it to 450 degrees. My 3.5 quart Dutch oven works perfectly for this size loaf. Once the second rise finishes, gently shape the dough into a ball, dust with flour and carefully place it seam-side up in the Dutch oven. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Finally, remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes until the the crust is a beautiful golden brown. Once it's done, marvel at how easy it is to remove from the vessel and enjoy!
