No Knead Bread

This is the first time I've made this type of bread and it turned out great! It was super easy and surprisingly few steps! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has been wanting to make bread but has been reluctant to do so because of the amount of time it takes. The no knead aspect of this bread allows for most of the work to be done over night and eliminated the second proofing, making it less difficult- but it is still a very tasty, crusty bread. 

I found the recipe for this on a blog called Simply So Good, she has great directions and tips. 

No Knead Bread

3 cups all purpose flour (good quality works best- like King Arthur) 

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon Instant of Rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2 cups water

In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. Add water and mix until it comes together, it will not be neat/smooth, but don't worry. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours. Overnight works great because you can just go to bed and resume work in the morning.

This is what the dough will look like after resting for 12 hours 

Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven is preheated, place a cast iron pot with a lid (or any pot that will sustain 450 degree heat) in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. While the pot is in the oven, turn the dough onto a well floured surface and shape into a ball. Make sure there is plenty of flour as the dough will be rather wet and sticky (and this is okay!). Cover the ball with plastic wrap and let rest while the pot heats. After the 30 minutes, remove the pot from the oven and drop the dough in, being careful, as the pot will be extremely hot. Also, be sure to keep the oven door closed as you are doing your dough transfer as to keep the oven at 450 degrees. Put the lid on and place in the over for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack. 

I wanted to try the bread plain for the first go round, but this bread lends itself to add ins such as nuts, fruits, herbs, and cheese. I think tomorrow I am going to try a Cheddar-Chive variation and a Dried Cranberry-Orange variation. I will post about how they turn out!  

There is nothing better than a slice of fresh bread with a bit of butter and some good jam! Now I can't wait for spring to roll around so that we can start making our own jams again!