Tutorial Tuesday: No Knead Bread

“Back to school” is quickly approaching which means some of us need to get a little more organized when it comes to making breakfasts and lunches. As someone who loves a good loaf, I always ensure we have a great selection of bread on hand for everything from my morning  toast to packed sandwiches. On weeks when I don’t have time to whip up a loaf of sourdough, I turn to my other favourite, the no knead bread. This infamous loaf was created by Jim Lahey, and like the names suggests, it comes together with very little effort. Unlike other breads which require kneading, the no-knead loaf relies on a long ferment to build gluten. It’s the perfect recipe to whip up in five minutes before bed, then bake off the next morning for fresh, warm out of the oven, breakfast.

This week, Baked has teamed up with our friends at Grain  to bring you two very special back-to-school recipes and an exciting giveaway coming your way later this week. Grain is a Canadian company (founded by two amazing women) which focuses on providing the best Canadian grown grains and naturally stoned-milled flour with no chemicals, bleaching, or additives. Unlike factory produced  flour which can contain a slew of additives (some of which are banned in the E.U.), Grain’s sourcing is transparent, even down to showcasing the famers they work with. Their freshly ground flours yield nutritious, soft, and seriously the tastiest baked goods around. It’s hands down my favourite flour to use in all my baking. Speaking of seriously tasty, you’re probably wanting this no-knead recipe…..

How to Make No-Knead Bread

Step 1: Begin by measuring out the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl.

Step 2: Stir to combine all the dry ingredients.

Step 3: Add the measured water straight into the bowl with the flour.

Step 4: Stir to combine the water and flour mixture.

Step 5: You’ll want a lumpy looking ball of dough (like the middle photo above) when you’re done. You can add more water a tablespoon at a time until all the flour is worked in but the dough is still stiff.

Step 6: Cover the dough with an airtight lid (I like to use a dinner plate) and let it sit out at room temperature for 12 hours (or overnight).

Step 7: After 12 hours (or the next morning) uncover the rested dough. It should be active and bubbly like in the photo above.

Step 8: Tip out dough and gently shape it, using as little flour as possible. Remember this is NO KNEAD, so the less touching the better. Place the shaped dough on a piece of parchment paper.

Step 9: Cover the dough with a damp towel at let it sit out to proof for another 40 minutes.

Step 10: Meanwhile, while the bread is proofing for a second time, place a dutch-oven in your oven and preheat it to 230° C (450° F). Let the dutch-oven stay in the oven for the duration of the second proof (the full 40 minutes), as you’ll want it to be extra hot for the bread to go into.

Step 11: After the bread has proofed for the second time, carefully remove the hot dutch-oven  Gently place the bread and parchment into the dutch oven. Cover it with a lid and bake for 30 minutes.

Step 12: After the 30 minutes is up, take off the lid and continue to cook the bread for another 20 minutes.

Step 13: After 20 minutes, take the loaf out of the oven.

Step 13: Carefully remove the loaf from the hot dutch oven (give it a few minutes to cool before attempting this). Let the loaf cool on a wire rack before slicing (if possible).