Break Bread, Not Your Back

Passport & Plate - No-Knead Bread, Double Loaf

USA | Thursday, February 26, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
6 cups flour (I prefer an equal mix of whole wheat and white, either bread flour or all-purpose)
.5 tsp instant or active-dry yeast
2.5 tsp salt (I use coarse sea salt for most cooking, in which case I err on the side of adding extra)
2.75 cups cool water (Substitutions encouraged here. I've had great success swapping out some or all of the water for leftover pasta- or potato-cooking water, beer, cider, or a combination)
Additional cornmeal, flour, grits, or wheat bran for handling and coating dough

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a bowl large enough to allow for plenty of dough expansion, combine first three ingredients. Add desired liquid and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated; the dough should be wet and sticky, more so than typical bread dough as it doesn't need to be kneaded by hand. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tightly fitting lid. Let dough rest 12-24 hours in a warm place, roughly 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough is ready when it's at least doubled in size and its surface has darkened, smells yeasty, and is speckled with bubbles.

Generously flour hands and a work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck sides of dough underneath itself to form a rough ball. Dust a cotton towel with plenty of flour, cornmeal, grits, even wheat bran to prevent rising dough from sticking to towel; place dough seam side down on towel and dust with chosen grain again. Fold towel over or cover with a second towel and let dough rise in a warm place for 2+ hours. Ideally dough will have doubled in size.

After about 1.5 hours, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Preheat a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot, such as a cast-iron Dutch oven, in the oven. When dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and slide your hand under the bottom towel; flip the dough over into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for a few minutes if needed, until crust is a deep chestnut brown. Internal temperature of bread should be around 200 degrees. Check this with a meat thermometer, or tap bottom of bread. If it sounds hollow, it's done. Remove bread from pot and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Note: recipe is forgiving. As long as you get a wet dough into the oven, the bread will come out tasty, if not pretty.

 

The story behind this recipe
In Maine, winter is about preservation: how to survive till the thaw. The sharp, earthy aroma of bubbling kimchi pervades our kitchen. The pantry’s lined with pickles from a friend’s farm, honey from a neighbor’s bees. The last of the Meyer lemons stand lovingly preserved in salt, pepper, rosemary—a delicious echo of last spring’s trip to Big Sur. What could possibly tie together such disparate, flavorful components? A hearty loaf of bread.

While we walk around the house doubled-up on sweaters, the dough is coddled, warmed in the oven with the bulb lit. It’s often too cold to nurse a proper sourdough starter; the no-knead method provides a similarly slow ferment, developing flavor overnight with the help of a plucky domesticated yeast purchased in bulk from the co-op. A beer-like aroma rises along with the dough, filling our small apartment.

It’s Wednesday, and we have friends coming over for dinner. It’s nothing fancy: hot soup with rich broth and kale (the only green thing that seems to survive this time of year in Maine). A heap of chilly local butter melts into a thick slice of fresh bread. Smoked fish and sauerkraut take things in another direction. A sharp cheese from one of the state’s 70+ creameries elevates the experience. Suddenly the simple fare seems decadent, transcending mere sustenance.

As a traveler, I’ve often relied on the hospitality of friends and family, as well as strangers. While grocery shopping in foreign counties can be tricky, this forgiving loaf makes do with basic ingredients available in nearly any host’s kitchen or local market. This easy, satisfying bread will transport weary travelers back home for a moment, or serve as a satisfying gift to break down language barriers when visiting abroad. It becomes uniquely local with a schmear from any part of the world. This recipe makes an affordable, edible thank you, and lifts spirits wherever it rises.