Almost No-Knead Bread

Slice into an amazing loaf of homemade rustic bread that is easy to make with this almost no-knead method. You will love its crusty exterior and deliciously chewy center.

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This is the type of bread that goes so well with a pasta dish or Italian salad. Delicious for dipping in flavored oil too. 

Preparing the dough

Don’t be worried if there looks to be a lot of steps in this recipe. The dough mixes easily and you will quickly have it in the bowl to rest.  

You will need 3 cups of flour. I like to be pretty exact so I use a kitchen scale to measure 15-ounces.

Here are the ingredients you will need to make the bread: flour, salt, rapid-rise yeast, water, white vinegar and a bottle of mild-flavored lager (I used Michelob Ultra). I like Fleischmann’s bread machine yeast rapid rise. I buy a 4-ounce jar and store it in the freezer so it keeps fresh for a long time. You can find the yeast at your grocery store or Walmart. 

Add the flour, yeast and salt to a large bowl.

Whisk together.

Add water, beer and vinegar.

Using a rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.

My dough rested for 18 hours and this is how it looked at the end of that time.

Transfer the dough to lightly floured work surface.

Knead the dough 10 to 15 times.

Shape the dough into a ball by pulling edges into middle and tucking under. Transfer the dough, seam-side down, to the center of the parchment and spray the surface with nonstick cooking spray.

Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment overhang and lower it into a large Dutch oven, leaving any excess parchment hang over the edge of pot.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 to 3 hours.

Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position. Remove the plastic wrap covering the dough and lightly flour the top of the dough.

Using a razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch long, 1/2-inch deep slit along top of dough.

Cover the Dutch oven and place in an unheated oven. Immediately heat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep golden brown. This is what you will have at the end of the baking time… an amazing loaf of rustic bread!  Allow the bread to cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing with a serrated knife.

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Almost No Knead Bread

recipe source: Cook’s Illustrated

INGREDIENTS

3 cups (15 ounces) all purpose or bread flour
1/4 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. (7 ounces) water at room temp
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. (3 ounces) mild-flavored lager
1 Tbs. white vinegar

DIRECTIONS

• Whisk flour, yeast and salt in large bowl.
• Add water, beer and vinegar.
• Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
• Lay a 12 by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper on counter and spray with oil spray.
• Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times.
• Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle.
• Transfer dough, seam-side down, to center of parchment and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray.
• Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment overhang and lower into a large Dutch oven, leaving any excess parchment hang over the edge of pot.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 to 3 hours.

Getting ready to bake

• Adjust oven rack to lowest position.
• Remove plastic wrap covering the dough.
• Lightly flour top of dough.
• Using a razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch long, 1/2-inch deep slit along top of dough.
• Cover Dutch oven and place in an unheated oven. Immediately heat oven to 425 degrees
• Bake, covered for 30 minutes.

Continue baking 

• Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer.
• Carefully remove bread from the Dutch oven; transfer to wire rack and cool completely, about 2 hours, before serving.

Recipe Notes:

• Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more with a lid knob that is oven-safe at 425 degrees. An enameled cast-iron with a tight-fitting lid works best.
• Use a mild-flavored lager or a mild-flavored non-alcoholic lager
• The bread is best eaten the day it is baked. To store longer, wrap tightly in aluminum foil for up to 2 days or wrap well and freeze.

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