Crusty No-Knead Bread

Darn. I found a recipe that is simple to make and oh so good. And, it's bread. My weakness. Guys, this recipe is seriously easy and beautiful and delicious. And, you can do plenty of things to make it more interesting. Yesterday, I opted to try the plain version. But, today I decided to make an herb bread. I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out. But, this plain bread was so freaking good. I mean; it really is amazing. I found this recipe from Simply So Good's blog. But, it sounds like the recipe originated from the New York Times. The only downfall to this recipe is you have to wait overnight before you can eat it. And, you need a cast iron dutch oven. The reason for this is that you need a heavy lid to keep it sealed shut. Even though you have to wait so long it's worth it!!! Try it and let me know what you think! Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast (or active yeast)
1 1/2 cups water (cold water is fine)


To make the bread all you do is take a large bowl and add in the flour, salt, and yeast. Stir together. Pour in the water and mix thoroughly with a spatula. The dough will look rather gooey and sticky. No worries. Place plastic wrap over the bowl. Set aside on your counter for 12 to 18 hours. The dough will rise overnight. After 12 hours or so, pour quite a bit of flour on your counter and even on your hands. The dough will be very sticky. Pour the dough out onto the counter and form into a ball. Place plastic wrap from earlier over the dough.


Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Just so you know; you do not have to grease your dutch-oven. Once the oven is ready, place your dutch oven in and let it heat up for 30 minutes. Be sure to use your oven-mitts and take out the dutch oven. Add more flour to your hands, and carefully drop the dough into the dutch oven. Cover it with the lid. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Take it from the oven and then remove the lid. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven. Carefully remove the bread from the dutch oven and set on a wire rack to cool. And, there you have it; glorious, easy, delicious crusty bread! One thing I found out is that if you cover the bread with foil it will make the bread soft. Probably best to just keep it out on the counter.


Now, if you want to add herbs, cheese, or what have you to the bread just make sure you add it to the flour mixture prior to adding in the water. For the herb mixture, I added fresh chopped rosemary, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning to the flour. Then, I poured in the water. I can't wait to try it tomorrow! Enjoy!


(Click here for printable recipe)