New York Times No Knead Bread…

I’ve heard about this recipe for years but never tried it.

Having to knead bread isn’t an issue when you have one of these!

When our friends from Ohio were here this weekend, she commented at lunch how she had been making the No Knead Bread and had developed different variations of it.

Now I’m all about recipes you can play with and “tweak” to your liking.

So, I gave it a try, “tweaking” it on my first try by substituting half of the flour for whole wheat flour.

When you first read the recipe, it’s hard to believe it will really work…

only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast? no oil? bake at 450 degrees in an ungreased pan?

It’s so easy.  Take some flour, some salt, some yeast…

add water, stir it up…

cover it with plastic wrap and let it set for 12-18 hours.

Afterwards it will look like this…

Dust with flour and give it a few turns in the bowl and cover and let it sit for two more hours.

(The directions say to do this on a towel, but why dirty a towel or the counter?)

Preheat a heavy oven proof pan or oven proof casserole with a lid at 450 degrees for half an hour.

Dump the dough into the hot ungreased pan.

At this point I was definitely doubting that this recipe was going to work.

Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for 15-30 minutes more until top is crusty and golden brown.

What results is not a traditional bread, but what I would call a rustic, artisan ciabatta type bread…

crusty on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside.

I can’t wait to try some of my friend’s variations…

adding some brown sugar and some dried cherries for a breakfast bread,

adding some herbes de provence and some sliced olives for an olive loaf…

I am thinking maybe a cheesy bread…

oh the possibilities!

 

Happy baking!

Elizabeth