Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

                                   

                        I've mentioned this method and recipe before, but I'm feeling the need to post the recipe. Why? Because every time that I bring this bread to a party, people rave about it. I tell them that I made it, and they say things like: "Oh, I hate you. I could never do that." Or: "I don't have time to do that."
But I promise them, and I promise you that you can totally do this. It's so easy and takes almost no active time. All you have to do is plan ahead a little bit.


And I've promised this before, but I swear that if you bring this to a party, people will love you.


Here's a little recap of Jim Lahey's explanation of the science behind this miraculous bread:


The long, slow rise brings the gluten molecules into side-by-side alignment, to maximize their opportunity to bind to each other and produce a strong, elastic network. The wetness of the dough is an important piece of this because the gluten molecules are more mobile when there is a sufficient quantity of water, and so can move into alignment easier and faster than if the dough was stiff."
Basically, this results in a bread with far more flavor than any bread you'll find in a supermarket or in the Baltimore area. The bread has structure, chewiness, a large airy crumb, and a substantial crust. It's really worth a try.

THE BASIC NO-KNEAD BREAD

-3 cups or 400 grams bread flour
-2 teaspoons table salt
-1/4 teaspoon or 1 gram instant or other active dry yeast
-1 1/3 cups or 300 grams cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water
-wheat bran, cornmeal, or additional flour for dusting


In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the water and mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size. This will take at least 12 hours and up to 18, the longer the better.

When the first fermentation is complete, generously dust a work surface (I like to use a large wooden cutting board) with flour. Use your hands or a spatula to scrape the dough onto the board in one piece. The dough will seem very sticky and wet at this point, and you may think that it doesn't seem right. It is, though, so don't add more flour.

Using lightly floured hands, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round. Place a cotton or linen (not terrycloth) tea towel on the work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Gently lift the dough onto the tea towel so that the seam side is down. If the dough is tacky, lightly dust it with the bran, cornmeal or flour. Fold the ends of the towel over the dough and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it's almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it doesn't, let it rise for 15 more minutes.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F with a rack in the lower third of the oven, and place a covered 4-6 quart heavy pot in the center of the rack. If your pot has a rubber handle, cover it with a double layer of tinfoil with the dull side facing out.


Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel, lightly dust the dough with flour, cornmeal or bran, lift up the dough, and quickly but gently invert it into the pot, seam side up.


The pot will be very hot , so be very careful when you replace the lid and put the pot back in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt. Use a heatproof spatula to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly. If you're not sure if it's done, hold the bread with a tea towel and knock on the bottom--if it makes a hollow-sounding thump, it's done.


You'll be tempted, but don't slice or tear into the bread until it's completely cool, which usually takes about an hour.

CIABATTA

-3 cups or 400 grams bread flour
-2 teaspoons table salt
-1/4 teaspoon or 1 gram instant or other active dry yeast
-1 1/2 cups or 350 grams cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water
-additional flour for dusting
-optional: 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary


In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. If you're using the rosemary, add it at this point. Add the water and mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.


When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour and scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the work surface. Dust the dough with flour and, with lightly floured hands, nudge the dough into roughly a 14 inch square. Fold the dough in half, then crosswise in half again, so you have a square, roughly 7 inches on each side.


Place the dough in a warm, draft-free spot, cover it with a tea towel, and let rise for 1 hour. The dough is ready when it's almost doubled and it holds the impression when poked with your finger. If not, let it rise another 15 minutes.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the center. On the rack should be a pizza stone and your 4-6 quart heavy-bottomed pot, without its lid.


Using pot holders, very carefully remove the hot pot from the oven. Using a dough cutter or sharp serrated knife, cut the dough in half. Shape each piece into a long flat loaf. Generously dust each loaf with flour.


Pick up 1 loaf with both hands, and quickly but gently stretch it to almost the length of the heavy pot, and place it on the stone. Using pot holders, carefully cover the loaf with the inverted pot and bake for 20 minutes.


Inverting the heavy pot is the trickiest part and must be done very carefully. I haven't yet burned myself while performing this maneuver, but I figure it's just a matter of time. So please be careful.


Uncover the loaf and place the pot on another rack in the oven in order to keep it hot for the next loaf. Continue to bake the first loaf for 10 to 20 minutes, checking the color of the loaf occasionally. It is done when the crust is a light chestnut color and it makes the hollow knocking sound.

Transfer the ciabatta to a rack to cool completely, and cook the second loaf the same way.