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No Knead Bread
Submitted by Linda, this recipe was adapted from Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery. It has appeared in the New York Times and other publications.

Prep time is about 1-1/2 hours, plus 14-20 hours rising

Yield is one 1-1/2 pound loaf
Ingredients
  • 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour and more for dusting
  • 1/4 tsp instant yeast
  • 1-1/4 tsp salt
  • 1-5/8 cup water heated to 120-130 degrees
  • cornmeal or wheat bran as needed
Preparation
  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt.
  2. Add water (being sure to check temperature!).
  3. Stir until well-blended. Dough will be shaggy and sticky.
  4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 12 hours (18 is better) at warm room temperature (70 degrees).
  5. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
  6. Lightly flour a work surface and turn dough out onto it.
  7. Sprinkle dough with a little more flour and fold dough over on itself once or twice.
  8. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
  9. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball.
  10. Generously coat a cotton (not terry cloth) towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal.
  11. Put dough, seam side down, on towl and dust with more flour, bran, or cornmeal.
  12. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours.
  13. When it's ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
  14. At least 30 minutes before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees.
  15. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, or ceramic) into oven as it heats.
  16. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven.
  17. Slide your hand under towel, remove top towel, and turn dough over into pot, seam side up. (It may look like a mess, but that's is okay.)
  18. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, it will straighten out as it bakes.
  19. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes.
  20. Remove lid and bake another 15-30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.
  21. Cool on rack.
Notes
Thanks to Linda for sending in this recipe!
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