No-Knead No-Nonsense Bread
Originally Posted January 29, 2021
Last night, I promised my 4-year-old daughter I would teach her how to make bread this morning. Then, I stayed up all night with a cluster-feeding newborn. Do you think my oldest daughter remembered we were making bread at 6am this morning? You betcha she did. Oh, the things we do for love.
Despite the fact that I’m a Kindergarten teacher, I didn’t intend for this to be a deeply educational experience. However, after we gave the yeast in the bowl a nice warm drink and “tucked it in for a nap” by covering it with a tea towel, it was my daughter that pointed out that the yeast needed to be fed and rested just like her new little sister!
Bread, much like motherhood, can feel intimidating and overwhelming. For both, there are so many competing schools of thought! And, just like motherhood, the best way to get from Point-A to Point-delicious-homemade-bread is to just get started. Know you are probably going to do something wrong and get your hands messy, but in the end you will end up with a delicious, warm, crusty loaf of baby- I mean bread!
This bread recipe is simple, easy to follow, and comes together quickly. There is a lot of “do this quick thing, and then let it rest”. This crusty loaf is great dipped in soup, sliced and made into sandwiches, or even munched on plain, in the middle of the night when you’re starving and the baby just wants to party. Speaking from personal experience, of course.
No-Knead No-Nonsense Bread
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pkg active-dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cup warm water
- cornmeal, for dusting
Instructions
- Stir together flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water. Using a silicone spatula or your hands, stir to combine until shaggy. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for two hours at room temperature. This is called proofing.
- Uncover your proofed dough. Use your hands to gather the edges and press into the center, like folding an envelope. This creates a taut, dome-like shape to the bottom of the dough, which will become the beautiful, crusty top of your bread.
- Lay down parchment paper on the counter, and dust with cornmeal. Upend the bowl of dough onto the cornmeal, so that the gathered side is faced down and the taut, domed side is face up. Dust the top with flour, and cover with the empty bowl for another 30 minutes to proof again. Meanwhile, place a Dutch oven inside your oven and preheat to 450°.
- After 30 minutes, uncover your dough. You can score the top using kitchen shears or a very sharp knife, to allow for some steam to escape. Use the edges of the paper to lift your dough and transfer the parchment paper and dough into your preheated Dutch oven. Cover with the lid. Bake for 30 minutes covered, and then an additional 15 minutes uncovered. Remove and let cool for half an hour before slicing. Enjoy!
