This bread is adapted from a recipe by Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York, written up by Mark Bittman in the New York Times on November 8, 2006. The column was titled 'The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work', and that is the whole method. There is no kneading at all. A quarter teaspoon of yeast and a day in a covered bowl do what kneading would otherwise do, and a hot oven does the rest inside a heavy pot.
A note about the amount of water: depending on your climate, the water content of your flour varies quite a bit. Flour is hygroscopic, i.e. it absorbs water from the surrounding air. If you live in a humid environment, 100 grams of your flour will contain more water than 100 grams of flour in a dry climate, such as the winters up North where I live. Start with 350 grams of water and add more until the dough feels too wet, doesn't hold together as a ball and pretty much looks ruined. This is the consistency that gives me the best, moist results. If you like your bread drier, use less water.
When I'm happy with the consistency of the dough, I cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for 12-24 hours. I literally spend no more than 30 seconds mixing it, and I never over-think the amount of water. I find twenty-something degrees Celsius is fine.
After that I flour my working surface, dump the dough onto it and stretch it by pulling out ears, folding them over, rotating the dough 90 degrees and repeating. Or I just punch the dough flat with my fist. The idea is simply to have a second rise. I sprinkle some oil in the bowl, put the dough back and let it rise for another 1.5-2 hours. The oil gives the bread a lovely crust, and it also helps to release the dough from the bowl.
Half an hour before baking I heat the oven to 230 °C. I use the convection setting, but a regular oven should work much the same. A heavy pot goes into the oven at the same time, so that it is very hot when the dough goes in. When the pot and the oven are hot, I sprinkle a little flour on the bottom of the pot and dump the dough in with the oily surface on top. Then some flaky salt goes on the bread. It bakes for 30 minutes with the lid on and then 15 minutes without. In the last picture the lid is already off and the bread is browning in the pot.
The finished bread rests on a rack for 20-30 minutes, so that the water in it has time to settle. The first picture shows what the crumb is like when you don't skimp on the water, moist and full of irregular holes. My flour was Sunnuntai erikoisvehnäjauho, a Finnish bread flour, and its bag is behind the loaf in the second picture.
Recipe card
No-Knead Bread
- First rise 12-24 hours
- Second rise 1.5-2 hours
- Oven 230 °C
- Baking 30 minutes with the lid on, 15 minutes without
- Resting 20-30 minutes
You will need
| 470 g | bread or all-purpose flour |
| 10 g | salt |
| 1/4 tsp | dry yeast |
| 350-450 g | lukewarm water |
You also need
| flour for the work surface and the pot | |
| oil | |
| flaky salt |
Method
- In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast. Pour in the water and mix with a spoon until combined. Start with 350 grams of water and add more until the dough feels too wet and doesn't hold as a ball. For a drier bread, use less water.
- Cover the bowl and leave for 12-24 hours at room temperature.
- Flour your work surface and dump the dough onto it. Stretch the dough into ears, fold them over, rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Or just punch the dough flat with your fist.
- Sprinkle oil in the bowl, put the dough back and let it rise for another 1.5-2 hours.
- 30 minutes before baking, heat the oven to 230 °C. Place a heavy pot in the oven so that it is very hot when you put the dough in it.
- When the pot and oven are hot, sprinkle some flour on the bottom of the pot. Dump the dough in the pot so that the oily surface is on top. Sprinkle some flaky salt on the bread.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then 15 minutes without the lid.
- Let rest for 20-30 minutes on a rack so that the water in the bread has time to settle.
