Homemade No-Knead Bread: The Third Loaf

Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC, created this recipe as a minimalist technique to bread baking that anyone could master. The magic 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.

No-Knead Bread
Makes 1 large loaf
Recipe adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery NYC

4 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed 
1/2 tsp instant yeast 
2 tsp salt 
2 cups water at around 70°F
Cornmeal, for dusting


Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add 2 cups water (it should be about 70°F, but I did it at 78°F) and stir until blended. You’ll have a shaggy, sticky dough; add a little more water if it seems dry. 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, transfer the dough to it, and fold it once or twice; it will be soft but not terribly sticky once dusted with flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes.
   
Using just enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton (not terry cloth) kitchen towel with cornmeal; put the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will be more than doubled in size and won’t spring back readily when poked with your finger.   

At least a half hour before the dough is ready, heat the 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 my new Lodge 5-quart cast iron pot from Nella Cucina in Toronto. 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.