Rustic No-Knead Bread
This crusty, delicious bread that goes by so many tasty names (peasant bread, hearty bread, easy artisan bread, no-knead bread, and so on!) is popular for a reason: it is so simple to make and is delicious and satisfying.
Equipment
- Dutch oven or other large, lidded pot
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1 ½ cups very warm tap water but not hot
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon yeast
- Cornmeal for sprinkling on bottom of Dutch oven
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir together until a soft dough forms. It should appear more moist than regular bread dough, but not as wet as a muffin batter. If the dough seems dry and flaky, add a little more water, a tablespoon at a time, until a soft dough forms. See the pictures below for a good visual of what you are looking for.
- Once the dough is prepared, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, a tea towel, or silicone lid.
- Let the bread rise on your counter overnight, or for at least 8 hours. It will rise and become very bubbly. When you are ready to bake the bread, take a butter knife and gently slice through the dough while also scraping it from the sides of the bowl. The dough will sink down and be ready to shape into a ball.
- Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour, then dump the dough out of the bowl onto your work surface. Sprinkle some more flour on top, and gently knead the bread several times to help shape it into a ball. The dough will still be very soft and a little sticky. Don’t worry about having a perfectly smooth loaf. A few bumps are part of the beautiful rustic charm of this bread! If desired, you can use a pair of scissors to cut score marks on the top of the loaf.
- Cover the dough with the same bowl that it rose in. Let the dough sit for 30 minutes on the counter. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 450°. Put your Dutch oven with the lid on into the oven to heat.
- When the 30 minutes are complete, carefully remove the Dutch oven. It will be very hot! Sprinkle about 1/8th cup cornmeal on the bottom of the pot. Carefully transfer the dough into the pot, cover, and place it back into the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, covered. Then remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The bread should be a lovely golden color and sound hollow when tapped.
- Remove the bread from the pot and immediately brush with butter or oil, if desired. Let it cool uncovered, or cover with a clean tea towel.
- Serve fresh, or toasted with butter and jam. Yum!
Notes
Your loaf will be easiest to slice once it is cool, but I have to admit that it is hard not to sneak a piece while it’s still warm. It’s lovely served fresh, or toasted with butter and jam.