No Fuss No-Knead Bread
My new favourite bread recipe
So I fell in love with no-knead bread a couple of weeks ago. So much so that I’ve been ignoring sourdrough – something I never expected I’d ever do. Don’t get me wrong, sourdough is amazing and I will never say no to a loaf of it. But there’s something about how effortless no-knead bread is that makes me love it so much. It has a gorgeous crunchy crust, with a fuffy and chewy interior, and takes legit no work. The beauty of this bread recipe is that the slow fermentation and long proofing period (12-18 hours) allows the gluten to develop without you needing to knead it. Hence the name.
So if you’re like me, and you love bread, but you feel kind of lazy about kneading and you have a little time to kill, then no-knead bread is for you! Let’s get ya into the kitchen and start drooling over your freshly baked bread.
Recipe / 1 small loaf
Ingredients
400g strong white bread flour
2g dry active yeast
8g salt
300ml water
Method
Mix the flour, yeast and salt together in a large bowl. Add the water and mix until there are no dry spots left in the dough. Cover the bowl with clingfilm / plastic wrap. Let it sit on the counter, out of direct sunlight and leave to ferment for at least 12 hours, and for up to 18 hours.
When the surface of the dough is bubbly, and has overall doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a well-floured tea towel. It's going to be sticky, but that's okay! Just be gentle with it.
Start to fold and tuck the top of the dough up and in towards the centre - this will actually be the bottom of your loaf when you bake it. Shape it into a tight ball, then dust with flour and fold over the tea towel. Leave to prove for another hour or two, until almost doubled in size.
After about 30 minutes of the dough proving, preheat the oven to 210°C / 410°F, and place a cast iron pot with the lid on inside. Allow to preheat for 30 minutes.
Once your dough has proved, get a piece of of parchment paper that will fit the inside of your pot. Unwrap the dough from the tea towel, then carefully turn it out into the parchment, so that the previous top of the dough will now be on the bottom of the pot.
Dust the top of the dough with more flour, then score with a sharp knife - I usually score a simple cross.
Once your cast iron pot is hot, remove from the oven carefully, and then take off the lid.
Lifting from the corners of the parchment, gently place the dough carefully inside.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and allow to bake for another 20 minutes or so, until the top of the bread is a beautiful golden brown.
Remove from the pot, then allow to cool completely before slicing into the bread. Enjoy!
Notes
Substitutions
You can absolutely substitute the flour if you don’t want just a plain white loaf. I’ve tried this same recipe with 3:1 ratio of strong white bread flour to einkhorn flour, and the same ratio again with white bread flour and wholemeal bread flour. Make sure that your dough is hydrated enough if you are using some of these denser flours – add enough water as needed.
Tips
Use a sharp knife when scoring your bread. You don’t want to push too hard with the knife that the dough starts ripping open. Slice it just hard enough to cut through the top layer, where you can just about see the inside of the dough. Not sure how to design your bread? Check out this article from King Arthur Baking for scoring inspo.
Let your bread cool down before you cut into it. I am absolutely guilty of ignoring this piece of advice at times, but it really does make a difference to your loaf’s flavour and texture. Check out this article from Food 52 if you don’t believe me!
Storage
Keep this no-knead bread wrapped in a tea towel or beeswax wrap, and it will keep for about 3 days. It's also suitable for freezing, for up to 3 months.