NYT No Knead Bread

Here is one of the most popular recipes The Times has ever published, courtesy of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery. It requires no kneading. It uses no special ingredients, equipment or techniques. And it takes very little effort — only time. You will need 24 hours to create the bread, but much of this is unattended waiting, a slow fermentation of the dough that results in a perfect loaf.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast and salt. Give it a quick stir to incorporate.

Step 2

Pour in the water, and with a spoon, stir until blended and all the flour is incorporated. The dough will be rough and shaggy, almost like a scone dough, and fairly sticky. This step needs to only take one minute.

Step 3

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel. Leave to rise for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 20 hours. The warmer your kitchen though, the quicker the rise. Avoid drafts

Step 4

The dough will be ready when the surface is level and bubbly. Flour a clean dry surface. Dump dough out and press out bubbles. Knead a few times by pressing down, folding over, turning and repeating. Form into a ball and dust with flour.

Step 5

Leave to rise a minimum of 2 hours until doubled in size.

Step 6

When bread is nearly finished rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place heavy lidded pot such as a Dutch oven in the oven to preheat on a rack between the middle and bottom. While the oven is heating, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. The dough will be VERY sticky and stringy. With well floured hand, fold the dough a few times over onto itself, and then shape it into a ball. Other shapes work well too. The shaping of the dough should only take a minute or two. No need to knead.

Step 7

If you’re using parchment, dust the paper and lay the dough on top. Other wise, let the dough rest on a well floured surface for an additional 30 minutes. Cover with the plastic wrap.

Step 8

Carefully place dough into the heated pot, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Either lift the parchment paper, or with well floured hands, carefully lift the dough and lay it into the pot. There is no need to grease the pan. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Step 9

Remove lid and cook another 15 - 20 minutes or so until the dough is nicely browned and a good crust is formed. It’s tempting to want to cut into the loaf right out of the oven, but it’s better to give it a several minutes to cool.