Easy No Knead Bread

I saw this bread on http://boomama.net/2010/04/14/an-unexpectedly-happy-cooking-moment/ that I wanted to try. I took her advice and used this recipe: http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.htmlI  It rises for 24 hours and you never mess up anything other than your bowl (if you have some parchment paper....get it and use it to line all your baking pans. IT IS WONDERFUL!). You will need a large bowl, and a dutch oven or large stainless steel pot, mine was a spaghetti pot.

Here is how to make it:

3 cups bread flour

1/4 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

 In a large bowl, stir the ingredients together and cover with plastic wrap. Leave it on your counter for about 20-24 hours. Two hours before you want to bake it, heavily flour a cotton kitchen towel. (I keep one already floured in a baggie in my freezer and use it anytime I want to roll out cookies or bread dough).  Pull out the dough with a wet spatula onto the floured towel. It it will look like a mess...rustic.Then wet your hands and fold under all the edges so that the dough makes a ball.  Fold the towel over the dough and let it rise for 2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours, preheat your oven and a dutch oven or large stainless steel pot for 30 minutes. Use a circle of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pot if you don't want any mess. Place the dough in the parchment lined pot, place the lid on, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 15  more minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a baking rack.

The dough, after 24 hours

Place the dough on the floured kitchen towel.

Tuck under the edges with your wet hands to make a ball.

The dough, after baking 30 minutes with the lid on.

It's done!

You might have noticed that I needed to brush off the excess flour before baking the bread. I used a lot of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the towel, but it needed to be brushed off before placing it in the pot.  The bread was crispy on the outside, then soft, moist and chewy on the inside.  I've already got some dough rising for tomorrow.