Artisan Bread super simple, no knead (VIDEO)
3 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated fast acting (instant) yeast (2 packets)
1-1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour
Mixing and Storing the Dough
1. Warm the water slightly.
2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a 5 quart bowl or a plastic container with a lid.
3. Mix in the flour – kneading is unnecessary.
4. Allow to rise. Cover with a lid (not airtight).
Baking
5. Shape your loaf. Place a piece of baking parchment paper on a pizza peel (don’t have a pizza peel – use an unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside down). Sprinkle the surface of your dough in the container with flour. Pull up and cut off about a 1-pound piece of dough (about the size of a grapefruit), using scissors or a serrated knife. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball as you go. Dust your hands with flour if you need to. This is just to prevent sticking – you don’t want to incorporate the flour into the dough. The top of the dough should be smooth – the object here is to create a “gluten cloak” or “surface tension”. This whole step should take about 30 seconds! Place the dough onto your parchment paper.
6. Let the loaf rise for about 30 – 40 minutes (it does not need to be covered).
7. Preheat a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven for at least 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Place an empty rimmed baking pan or broiler pan on a rack below the baking stone. This pan is for holding water for steam in the baking step. (If you don’t have a baking stone, you can use a baking sheet, but you will not get the crisp crust on the bottom. You will still have a great loaf of bread. Baking stones are cheap and easy to find – Target carries them – and are a must for making pizzas, so go out and get one as soon as you can.)
8. Dust the loaf with a little flour and slash the top with a knife. This slashing is necessary to release some of the trapped gas, which can deform your bread. It also makes the top of your bread look pretty – you can slash the bread in a tic tac toe pattern, a cross, or just parallel slashes. You need a very sharp knife or a razor blade – you don’t want the blade to drag across the dough and pull it. As the bread bakes, this area opens and is known as “the bloom”. Remember to score the loaves right before baking.
9. Bake. Set a cup of water next to your oven. Slide the bread (including the parchment paper) right onto the hot baking stone. Quickly pour the water right into the pan underneath the baking stone and close the oven door. This creates the necessary steam to make a nice crisp crust on the bread. Bake at 450 F for about 30 – 35 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf. Make sure the crust is a deep golden brown.
10. Cool. Allow the bread to cool for the best flavor and texture. It’s tempting to eat it when it’s warm, and that’s fine, but the texture is better after the bread has cooled.
11. Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (with a hole punched in the top) container and use for up to 14 days. Every day your bread will improve in flavor.