bread

food: bread worth its butter by kelly heaton

Just in case you don't know this recipe, here it is again:

No Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery NYC, originally published in November 2006.

Time: About 1½ hours plus 10 to 20 hours rising time

INGREDIENTS

3 cups King Arthur bread flour, plus more for dusting
Handful of semolina flour for dusting (adds "tooth" to the crust)
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 5/8 cups lukewarm water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups lukewarm water and stir all ingredients with a fork until blended.  The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough rest at least 10 hours, preferably about 18 - 20 hours, at room temperature (approx 70 degrees).

2.  After the rise time (at least 10 hours), spread a smooth cotton towel on the countertop.  Lightly coat the towel with a mixture of bread flour and semolina.  Do not use a fancy towel because sometimes the dough will stick, especially in warmer temperatures. 

3.  Place a 6 - 8 quart heavy pot with a lid into the oven (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic). I use a Le Creuset.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

4.  Remove the dough from the rising bowl.  Fold a couple of times to shape it into a roundish lump.  Place it on the towel that has been generously dusted with flour.  Loosely wrap the dough with the floured towel and let it rise for another 30 minutes (or up to several hours). I often start the second rise at the same time that I start to preheat the oven.   

5.  When the oven is preheated, carefully remove the hot pot from the oven.  Working quickly and carefully, remove the lid from the pot and drop the dough inside.  Cover the pot with the lid and return to the oven.  

6.  Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. 

7.  Remove bread from pot using tongs and cool on a wooden breadboard or rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.