Give No-Knead Bread a Try, the Poor Man’s Way

No-Knead Bread, No-Need Extra Equipment

After seeing all the hype about No-Knead Bread, which all started from an article at the New York Times, I was very interested in trying it out. One of the big hypes about this bread was how easy it was to make wonderful tasting bread in little time. As I researched how to make No-Knead bread, I became a little disappointed because it required cooking equipment that are not common to most peoples kitchen. I had envisioned the No-Knead Bread as something that my little brother, who doesn’t cook, could even make in his college apartment. Every recipe and method I read talked about using cast iron dutch ovens, stoneware ovens, large Pyrex pans with a lid, weighing the Flour, and the list goes on and on….

I just wanted to give the No-Knead recipe a try, not make an investment in it. I finally found an awesome post “No-Knead Bread Hack: Making a Sandwich Loaf Instead” that gave me the way to just give this recipe a try. My first loaf turned out excellent. I made it at work, we have a kitchen there, and shared it with my co-workers and it disappeared quick. They couldn’t believe that the recipe was just flour, salt, yeast, and water. I found the recipe to be super simple, easy, and very forgiving. I have been making all kinds of experiments with this bread since then, YES I am addicted now.

I call this method of making this No-Knead bread the “Poor Man’s No-Knead Bread”. It is not as good as when you cook your No-Knead dough in a dutch oven or stoneware but it is still quite good, and you don’t have to buy extra kitchen equipment to try it. This recipe has been adapted from the original No-Knead Bread Recipe.

Poor Man’s No-Knead Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups water

Equipment needed:

• Very large bowl
• Wooden spoon or a strong mixing spoon
• 1/4 teaspoon
• Silicone Spatula
• Plastic wrap (saran wrap)
• Bread Pan (not to small, large preferred)
• Kitchen oven
• Cooking spray (Pam).

Instructions (photos are coming soon):

1. Combine all the dry ingredients (flour, yeast, salt) in the large bowl and stir with spoon for about 15 seconds.
2. Add water to the bowl and stir for about 1 or 2 minutes (it won’t look that good but that doesn’t matter).
3. Cover the top of the bowl loosely with plastic wrap.
4. Let sit on counter top for about 12 to 16 hours (I usually do this for about 13 hours), the dough will look all bubbly on the top when done rising.
5. Generously sprinkle flour the top of your clean counter top or a cutting board (don’t worry about using to much flour, it won’t hurt it).
6. Slowly pour the dough from the bowl on to the floured surface, using the silicone spatula to help it peal of the sides of the bowl.
7. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and rub your hands together with flour.
8. With you hands, gently stretch the dough out to a rectangle shape.
9. Fold the left side half way over and then fold the right side over it.
10. Fold the top and bottom in a similar fashion.
11. Stretch the dough ball a little little longer so it can sit length wise in your bread pan.
12. Place the dough into a lightly greased bread pan.
13. Let dough rise till it is a bit above the top of the bread pan (about double in size or 2 hours, whichever comes first).
14. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
15. Remove plastic wrap and put in the oven for 28 to 30 minutes.
    (if you have an instant read thermometer, the inside of the bread should reach 190 degrees. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, just leave it in for the full 30 minutes).
16. Remove from oven and let it cool on a cooling rack or your counter top.

Note: This bread is best eaten fresh, and you’ll find that it will not last long either. The longer you store it, the softer the crust will get. When it is fresh, the crust will be thin and crunchy and the inside will be moist and chewy.

Now that you have given it a try, if not a few tries, you can decide whether you want to buy a dutch oven or stoneware to make your No-Knead Bread even better. Have Fun and Eat Good!