No-Knead Bread
Total Time
1 day and 45 minutes
Prep Time
1 day
Cook Time
45 minutes
Rating
4.97 out of 5 stars
(33)
Ingredients
8 servings
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon diced lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup Cornmeal
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Preparation
Step 1
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, lemon, and rosemary. Add the water and stir until blended. It will be very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm spot (75° is ideal) for 12 to 24 hours, until the surface is dotted with bubbles.
Step 2
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface then sprinkle with a bit more flour. Turn the dough over onto itself once or twice. The dough will be very wet and sticky - that's ok - just don't knead the dough. Cover loosely and let rest for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Lightly flour your hands and gently shape the dough into a ball without kneading it. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a flour sack type kitchen towel and place the dough, seam side down, onto the towel. Dust the top of the dough with more cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise until the dough is more than double in size, about 2 hours.
Step 4
30 minutes before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450°F and place a 4-quart covered Dutch oven in the oven as it heats.
Step 5
Use oven mitts to carefully remove the pot from the oven. Turn the dough over into the pot so that it’s seam-side up. If necessary, shake the pan a bit to evenly distribute the dough. Use a sharp knife to cut three shallow slits on top of the dough. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 to 30 minutes more, until golden brown on top.
Step 6
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pot.
Step 7
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Chef's notes
Let the dough rise somewhere warm. Because yeast responds to warmth, letting your dough rise in a warm place will yield the best results. We like to put ours on a sunny windowsill!
Time the first rise based on your schedule. This bread turns out well after an initial rise of anywhere from 12-24 hours. That’s a big range! You might notice slight differences in the final loaf depending on how long the rise is (it’ll be puffier the longer it goes), but really, this range is just to give you flexibility. As long as the dough is dotted with bubbles when you move on to the next step, let it rise for as long as is convenient for you.
Be gentle. When no-knead bread comes out well, it’s dotted with air bubbles, and it has a light, soft texture. To achieve this, be gentle with the dough. After the initial rise, turn the dough out of the bowl carefully, taking care to preserve as much volume as you can while you work with it. Whatever you do, don’t punch it down!
Not sure if your dough is ready to bake? Poke it! To make sure your dough is ready to bake after its 2-hour rise, poke it with your finger. If it springs back right away, let it rise a bit longer. It’s ready to bake when it slowly bounces back.
