This recipe which made its debut in 2006 in Mark Bittman’s column in the NY Times, was the brainchild of Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery, who devised the recipe as a minimalist technique to bread baking that anyone could master. The magic to this beauty is in the science. The recipe uses very little yeast, and the water content is very high. Another big difference is that the proofing time is extremely long and slow. Apparently the wetness of the dough, and the long rising time, allows the gluten molecules to align themselves into long strands, creating elasticity, thus eliminating the necessity to do laborious kneading to develop those strands. The high moisture content also creates a beautiful crackly, crust by providing steam from its own moisture during the baking process.
From start to finish, it takes about 24 hours to create the bread, but much of that is just waiting for the slow fermentation of the dough that results in a perfect loaf. After the first 24 hours, the dough didn't seem to rising so I left it another day. Using a razor blade, I scored the top of the dough before bunging it in the oven. Much different than my first loaf two days before, I was still overjoyed as I pulled this gorgeous bread from the oven. It was perfect. Light and fluffy on the inside, with a crisp crust and a pretty design on top that allowed the loaf to expand at the crown, and expose the breads lovely rich chestnut colour. More importantly, it was absolutely delicious, again. Truly amazing.
Sullivan Street Bakery 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 but I upped it to 75°F this time) 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. Ideally, you want the room to be about 72°F. In the dead of winter, when the dough will tend to rise more slowly, as long as 24 hours may be necessary. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. "This long, slow fermentation is what yields the bread’s rich flavour", says Jim.
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.
Generously flour your work surface. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to turn the dough onto the surface in one blob. The dough will cling to the bowl in long, thread-like strands and it will be quite loose and sticky. This is exactly what you want. Do not add more flour. Instead use lightly floured hands to gently and quickly lift the edges of the dough in toward the center, effectively folding the dough over onto itself. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round. That’s it. Don’t knead the dough.
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.
Generously flour your work surface. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to turn the dough onto the surface in one blob. The dough will cling to the bowl in long, thread-like strands and it will be quite loose and sticky. This is exactly what you want. Do not add more flour. Instead use lightly floured hands to gently and quickly lift the edges of the dough in toward the center, effectively folding the dough over onto itself. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round. That’s it. Don’t knead the dough.
Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal. Place the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust the surface with a little more flour, bran, or cornmeal. Cover the dough with another cotton towel and let it rise for about 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will be double in size and will hold the impression of your fingertip when you poke it lightly, making an indentation. If the dough readily springs back when you poke it, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
A half hour before the dough is done with its second rise, preheat the oven to 450°F. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and place a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot and its lid (whether cast iron or enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. I used 2 Pyrex inverted plates, which actually works very well, as I was still waiting for my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven to arrive.
When the dough is done with its second rise, carefully remove the pot from the oven and uncover it. Also, uncover the dough. Lift up the dough and quickly but gently turn it over into the pot, seam side up, being very careful not to touch the pot. The blob of dough may look like a mess, but trust me, everything is O.K. Using a razor blade, you can quickly score the top of the bread in an artful manner, which makes the bread look nice and also helps control the expansion of the loaf as it will bake. Cover the pot with its lid and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake until the loaf is beautifully browned to a deep chestnut color, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a wire rack. Don’t slice or tear into it until it has cooled, which usually takes at least an hour.
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