20110617-no-knead-bread-primary

Making bread is easy. People just think it’s hard. Growing up, we made bread every week. In my restaurant, we made it every day and we had a very busy, really small kitchen. Making bread is organic, soothing and creative. It can be a baguette or a bun, a pizza or a pretzel, or any other shape you can imagine forming from dough. But first you start with a good (and simple) recipe.

 

Recipe

 

1 cup warm water + pinch of sugar

2 packages (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

4 cups flour (unbleached white, or combo of semolina and white)

1-tablespoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons corn meal

 

* Add yeast to ½ cup of the water + sugar and let it stand until it froths (about 10 minutes)

 

* Place the flour onto a work surface or large bowl and form into a ring

 

* Add the yeast water + salt in the center of the ring and begin to work the flour into the liquid

 

* Add the additional water a bit at a time until all of the flour is incorporated, adding a bit more flour if too sticky and a bit more water if too dry

 

* Knead the dough using the palms of your hand until the dough is smooth (about 10 minutes of so)

 

* Add the oil to a bowl and place the dough there, turning until it’s coated with the oil

 

* Cover with plastic wrap then with a warm towel or blanket and allow to rise until the dough doubles (about 90 minutes)

 

* Remove dough and place onto a floured work surface, punch down and shape into two loaves

 

* Place loaves onto a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and cover with a dish towel and a blanket and let rise again until the loaves double in size.

 

* Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the top crust is firm and golden and the bottom has a light crust

 

photo via www.seriouseats.com

2 Comments
  1. Jeri October 17, 2014 at 3:09 am - Reply

    Just curious. Can this bread recipe be made with Bob’s all purpose gluten-free flour ?
    I cannot eat any wheat/gluten so I wondered if you have tried making this gluten-free.
    Looking forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for answering my question.

    Jeri

    • chefsilvia October 17, 2014 at 3:57 am - Reply

      Hi Jeri, I’ve never tried this recipe with Bob’s all purpose GF flour. But I have used that flour in other recipes and I haven’t really cared for it. My guess is to try it with white rice flour. I’ve found that a really good and close substitute for making pasta so it might work for bread. But like any recipe, especially bread, it’s really trial and error. If you do try it, I love for you to come back and let us know about the results. Good luck with this Jeri!

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