Busy Budget Foodie: No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

This week, I did something I have never done before: baked my very own bread! Bread is arguably my favorite food group, and I have wanted to try and bake my own bread for ages. However, I was always unsure of how to use yeast as an ingredient, and thought that the idea of kneading bread sounded time-consuming and difficult.

When I shared my concerns with a grad school friend who regularly bakes, she gave me a (very un-scary) package of active dry yeast, and I came across this amazing recipe for making bread in a dutch oven. The only downside is the 12-18 hour rise time, but if you mix up the ingredients in the evening and bake the bread the following afternoon, it feel like to time at all.

All credit for this recipe goes to Frugal Living NW, which has amazing step-by-step instructions and photos that you should check out NOW.

Basic No-Knead Bread 

Ingredients:

6 cups bread (recommended) or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface 

1/2 t. instant or active-dry yeast 

2 1/2 t. salt 

2 2/3 c. cool water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated; the dough should be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours on the counter at room temperature. When surface of the risen dough has darkened slightly, smells yeasty, and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.

2. Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.

3. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with enough flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran to prevent the dough from sticking to the towel as it rises; place dough seam side down on the towel and dust with more flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran. Cover with the edges or a second cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

4. After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 425-450 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot, such as a cast-iron Dutch oven, in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and slide your hand under the bottom towel; flip the dough over into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5. Cover and bake for 40-50 minutes. Uncover and continue baking about 5-10 more minutes, until a deep chestnut brown. The internal temp of the bread should be around 200 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer, if desired. Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing (wait at least 1 hour or bread will be gummy in texture).