Homemade Crusty No-Knead Bread: A Triumph!

As we continue adapting to the new normal, I hope you and your loved ones are staying well, and safe. I also hope that you are taking time to reflect, explore and nourish your mind, body and soul. This is the time to try something new and feed your curiosity. To help you in this culinary journey, I am serving you fresh ideas to feed what every part of you craves. This is one of the most popular recipes The New York Times ever published, courtesy of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. It requires no kneading, uses no special ingredients, equipment, and it takes very little effort — only time. It takes about 24 hours to create the bread, but much of that is simply just waiting for the slow fermentation of the dough that results in a perfect loaf. At the beginning, I was sceptical. The dough didn't seem to be rising after 24 hours, so I left it another day. I was completely overjoyed when I pulled this beautiful bread from the oven. It was indeed a perfect loaf. Light and fluffy on the inside with a crisp outer crust, and absolutely delicious. I was totally hooked. Now on to the next loaf...

Light and fluffy on the inside, and crunchy on the outside, and cooked in my pijamas!

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread 
Makes one 1 1/2 lb loaf
Recipe adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery NYC

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran, as needed


In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water (it should be about 70°F) and stir until blended — the dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 18 hours at room temperature (a couple of hours less if your kitchen is warmer; a couple more if it’s cool). The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.

Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with a second cotton towel and let rise until it has more than doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450°F. Put a 3- to 4-quart covered pot with the cover — it may be cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, or ceramic — in the oven as it heats. (I used 2 Pyrex inverted plates). When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. (Slide your hand under the towel and just turn the dough over into the pot; it’s messy, and it probably won’t fall in artfully, but it will straighten out as it bakes.) Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned; the bread’s internal temperature should be 200°F or more. (If at any point the dough starts to smell scorched, lower the heat a bit.) Remove the bread with a spatula or tongs and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.