The Quickest, Easiest Bread (Allow 24 hours)

This is hands down the easiest and best bread to make. And when I say hands down, I mean it… there is NO KNEADING INVOLVED. You won’t believe that you actually made it yourself, it tastes like it came from a fancy french bakery… and it really couldn’t be any easier. You just need some time. This recipe came from Jim Lahey of Sullivan bakery by way of Mark Bittman by way of the New York Times. Its a real gem.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Bread Flour
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 Cups Water

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and salt until well combined. Add the water and mix with your hand just for a few seconds until all the flour is incorporated. The mixture will be quite sticky and shaggy. That’s normal.

Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and leave it for 15-20 hours. When ready it will be dotted with air bubbles and will have risen considerably.

Dump the dough out onto a well floured surface and fold it on itself a couple of times.

Let it rest for 10 minutes. Next, flour your hands and the dough (with just enough flour to allow you to handle the dough) and shape it into a ball. The dough will be very sticky and not so easy to handle. Don’t worry if its not pretty, it’ll all work out, trust me.

Now place the dough on a kitchen towel that’s dusted with yellow cornmeal, dust the top of the dough with more yellow cornmeal, and cover with another kitchen towel.

Let it rise for 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. It’s done when a pressed finger depression doesn’t quickly bounce back.

1/2 hour before the dough is ready, preheat an oven to 500 degrees, and place a Cast Iron pot with a lid into the oven.

After the oven has preheated, slide your hands under the kitchen towel and toss the dough in, seem side up (again don’t worry if its not pretty), and bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Take the lid off and bake another 15-30 minutes or until there’s a nice golden crust.

Turn out onto a cooling rack, and ta dah!

Easy huh?