Southern Style Cooking: Week 2: A Crusty No-Knead Bread and Proofing Bread

Monday, April 19, 2021

Week 2: A Crusty No-Knead Bread and Proofing Bread

Now that you've made a killer quick bread, it's time to try a really simple, no-knead yeast bread. If you're looking for a crusty white bread, this is as easy as it gets, and yet it tastes like you just picked it up at your favorite artisan bakery. While there's no kneading involved, you will have to wait for the dough to rise, which gives yeast bread its holey interior, flavor, and shape. You may want to practice making this recipe a couple of times to get the hang of folding and shaping, but we'll use any excuse to make this bread over and over again.

Ingredients

•	15 ounces flour (bread flour or all-purpose, about 3 cups using dip and sweep method)
•	1 1/2 cups/12 ounces room-temperature water
•	2 tablespoons olive oil
•	1 1/4 teaspoons salt
•	1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

How to Make Crusty No-Knead Bread

1. Gather the ingredients. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or by hand until there is a soft, ragged looking dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours (the warmer your kitchen the less time it needs to rise).

2. Flour a piece of parchment paper and your hands. Coax the dough out of the bowl and onto the floured parchment paper. With floured hands, fold the dough over on itself about 4 times to form a round loaf.

3. Position it on the floured parchment seam-side down. Sprinkle with flour and put a lightweight kitchen towel over the loaf. Let it rise for another 2 hours.

4. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Place a heavy, 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven in the oven without the lid. Preheat the oven to 500 F.

5. Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and place it on a metal rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 F. Lifting it by the ends of the parchment paper, put the dough, parchment paper and all, in the hot Dutch oven. Place the lid on the pot and put it back in the oven.

6. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and bake for about 20 minutes longer. The bread should register at least 200 F on an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center. Remove the bread and place it on a rack to cool before slicing.