Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads Read online

  Simply stir the ingredients together in a big bowl and slip it into the refrigerator to chill for a couple hours. Then, leave it on the counter to rise all day or all night. This long, slow rise is key: It develops superior flavor and "micro-kneads" the dough so you can skip this formerly essential step. Last, simply stir the dough again; turn it out into two loaf pans; let rise, and bake.

  Your reward? Two large, fine-textured loaves perfect for sandwiches, toast, or eating plain. Or, if you prefer, use half of this versatile dough for an everyday white loaf, and quickly turn the second half into a dozen large, lusciously decadent yet easy sticky buns (see Easy Cinnamon Sticky Buns and Good and Easy Pecan Sticky Buns (or Saucy Maple-Butter Sticky Buns)).

  Yield: 2 medium loaves, 12 to 14 slices each

  6½ cups (32.5 ounces) unbleached white bread flour, plus more as needed

  3½ tablespoons granulated sugar

  1 tablespoon table salt

  1 teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast

  1/3 cup corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless vegetable oil, plus extra for coating dough tops and baking pans

  2¾ cups ice water, plus more if needed

  First Rise In a very large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk the oil into the water. Thoroughly stir the mixture into the bowl with the flour, scraping down the sides until thoroughly blended. If the mixture is too dry to incorporate all the flour, a bit at a time, stir in just enough more water to blend the ingredients; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If necessary, stir in enough more flour to stiffen it. Brush or spray the top with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature (about 70°F) for 15 to 20 hours. If convenient, stir the dough about halfway through the rise.

  Second Rise Vigorously stir the dough, adding more flour if necessary to yield very stiff consistency. Using well-oiled kitchen shears or a serrated knife, cut it in half, placing the portions in 2 well-greased 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans. Smooth and press the dough into the pans using a well-oiled rubber spatula or your fingertips. Evenly brush or spray the dough tops with oil. Make a ½-inch deep slash lengthwise down the center of each loaf. Tightly cover the pans with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.

  Let Rise Using Any of These Methods For a 1½- to 2½-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1- to 2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 24 hours, then set out at room temperature. Continue the rise until the dough nears the plastic. Remove the plastic and continue until the dough reaches ½ inch above the pan rims. Dust each loaf evenly with 1 tablespoon flour.

  Baking Preliminaries 15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425°F.

  Baking Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the tops are nicely browned. If necessary to prevent over-browning, cover the tops with foil. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes longer, until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until the center registers 208° to 210°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer to ensure the centers are baked through. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out the loaves onto racks and cool thoroughly.

  Serving and Storing

  Cool thoroughly before slicing or storing. Store airtight in plastic bags or wrapped in aluminum foil. The bread will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.

  Crusty White Peasant-Style Pot Bread

  KS Quotient

  Super Easy: Fuss-free ingredients, added all at once. No hand-shaping.

  Pot boules—round, peasant-style breads simply popped in a sturdy, lidded pot and baked—are about the easiest loaves possible, but among the most gratifying. They puff up well, brown beautifully, and always come out crusty, due to the moisture trapped inside the pot during the first few minutes in the oven. (In fact, the pot actually serves as a mini-oven.) As an added bonus, the loaves need no hand-shaping because the dough just conforms to the container shape as it expands.

  Like the basic black dress, this basic white loaf is always appropriate and in favor. The interplay of light mild crumb, crunchy golden crust, and deep sweet yeast taste and aroma (coaxed out by long, slow rising) is downright amazing. In fact, eating this bread is a far more complex and exciting sensory experience than one might expect from the simple ingredients.

  Should you ever want a change of pace from the basic loaf, it's an easy matter to add a few accents for a rather different effect. See the rosemary— black olive variation at the end of the recipe.

  Yield: 1 large loaf, 12 to 14 slices

  4 cups (20 ounces) unbleached all-purpose white flour or unbleached white bread flour, plus more as needed

  1 teaspoon granulated sugar

  2 teaspoons table salt

  ¾ teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast

  2 cups ice water, plus more if needed

  Corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless vegetable oil or oil spray for coating dough

  First Rise In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Vigorously stir the water into the bowl, scraping down the sides and mixing until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. If the mixture is too dry to incorporate all the flour, a bit at a time, stir in just enough more water to blend the ingredients; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be very stiff. If necessary, stir in enough more flour to yield a hard-to-stir dough. Brush or spray the top with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 18 to 24 hours. If convenient, vigorously stir the dough once about halfway through the rise.

  Second Rise Using an oiled rubber spatula, gently lift and fold the dough in towards the center all the way around until mostly deflated; don't stir. Brush or spray the surface with oil. Re-cover with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.

  Let Rise Using Any of These Methods For a 1½- to 2½-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1- to 2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 24 hours, then set out at room temperature. Continue the rise until the dough doubles from the deflated size; remove the plastic if the dough nears it.

  Baking Preliminaries 20 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 450°F. Heat a 3 ½- to 4-quart (or larger) heavy metal pot in the oven until sizzling hot (check with a few drops of water), then remove it, using heavy mitts. Taking care not to deflate the dough (or burn yourself), loosen it from the bowl sides with an oiled rubber spatula and gently invert it into the pot. Don't worry if it's lopsided and ragged-looking; it will even out during baking. Generously spritz or brush the top with water. Immediately top with the lid. Shake the pot back and forth to center the dough.

  Baking Reduce the heat to 425°F. Bake on the lower rack for 55 minutes. Remove the lid. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until the top is well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until center registers 209° to 212°F on an instant-read thermometer). When it seems done, bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the loaf to the rack and cool thoroughly.

  Choosing the Right Pot:

  While expensive enamel-coated cast iron Dutch ovens make great bread bakers, there are lots of more economical containers that work just as well. I've successfully used several anodized aluminum stew and sauce pots; plain cast iron Dutch ovens and deep-sided skillets and
fryers; enamel-coated carbon steel pots; and even a heavy 4-quart stainless steel—clad aluminum saucepan (with a domed oven-safe lid and metal handle). The shape and size of the container will greatly impact how the finished loaf will look, of course, but so long as they are sturdy and have a snug-fitting lid, all sorts of pots will yield the crusty-crackly breads that are otherwise difficult to produce in a home oven.

  The pot size, shape, and composition will also affect baking time. For example, in a 10- or 11-inch diameter deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven the dough will spread out and yield a low, gently domed loaf that will bake through in the center sooner than a taller, high-domed loaf produced in 9-inch diameter pan. For more information on suitable baking pots, see chapter Getting Started.

  Serving and Storing

  Cut or tear the loaf into portions; it tastes good warm but will cut much better when cool. Cool completely before storing. To maintain the crisp crust, store draped with a clean tea towel or in a heavy paper bag. Or store airtight in a plastic bag or wrapped in foil: The crust will soften, but can be crisped by heating the loaf, uncovered, in a 400°F oven for a few minutes. The bread will keep at room temperature for 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.

  Variation

  Crusty Rosemary and Olive Pot Bread

  Stir 1 cup pitted, coarsely chopped black Kalamata olives (well drained) and 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh (not dried) rosemary needles (discard the stems) into the dough along with the water. Proceed exactly as directed in the original recipe.

  All-Purpose Light Wheat Bread

  KS Quotient

  Super Easy: Short ingredient list, readily available ingredients. No hand-shaping.

  A large, versatile, no-fuss loaf, this has a firm, springy interior, crusty exterior, and wonderfully light, pleasing wheat taste and aroma. It's a fine all-around bread, suitable for eating "as is," for toasting, and for making sandwiches. For a slightly "wheatier" and more nutritious bread, see the variation at right.

  Yield: 1 large loaf, 12 to 15 slices

  3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached all-purpose white flour, plus more as needed

  1 cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour, plus 1 tablespoon for garnishing loaf top

  3 tablespoons granulated sugar

  Generous 1¾ teaspoons table salt

  ¾ teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast

  3 tablespoons corn oil, plus extra for coating dough top and baking pan

  2 cups plus 1 tablespoon ice water, plus more if needed

  First Rise In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the white flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. In another bowl or measuring cup, whisk the oil into the water. Then vigorously stir the mixture into the bowl with the flour, scraping down the sides and mixing until thoroughly blended. If too dry to mix together, add just enough more water to facilitate mixing, but don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If necessary, stir in enough more white flour to stiffen it. Brush or spray the top with oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours; if convenient, vigorously stir once during the rise.

  Second Rise Vigorously stir the dough. If it is not stiff, stir in enough more white flour to yield a hard-to-stir dough. Using an oiled rubber spatula, gently lift and fold the dough in towards the center all the way around (this organizes the gluten for shaping the dough into a loaf). Invert it into a very well-greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Using an oiled rubber spatula or fingertips, smooth out the top and press the dough out into the pan. Brush or spray the dough top with oil. Evenly sprinkle the top with 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour. Using a well-oiled serrated knife or kitchen shears, make 3 to 4 evenly spaced diagonal ½-inch-deep slashes down the loaf. Cover the pan with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.

  Let Rise Using Any of These Methods For a 1½- to 2½-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1- to 1½-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 24 hours, then set out at room temperature. When the dough nears the plastic, remove it and continue the rise until the dough extends 1/8 inch above the pan rim or doubles from its deflated size.

  Baking Preliminaries 15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 375°F.

  Baking Bake on the lower rack for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf is well browned and crisp on top; as necessary cover with foil to prevent over-browning. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes more, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few particles on the end (or until the center registers 208° to 210°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for 5 minutes longer to make sure the center is done. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the loaf onto a rack and cool thoroughly.

  Serving and Storing

  Serve warm, cool, or toasted; the bread slices best when cool. Cool thoroughly before storing in plastic or foil. Keeps at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. May be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.

  Variation

  All-Purpose Whole Wheat Bread

  Use 2 cups white flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour. If desired, add 1 tablespoon more sugar to balance the wheat flavor. Proceed exactly as directed in the original recipe.

  Crusty Portuguese-American Yeasted Cornbread

  KS Quotient

  Easy: A minimum of easily mixed ingredients. No hand-shaping.

  This is my version of pao de milho, a peasant-style yeasted cornbread popular in the Portuguese-American communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The locals like to make it with a special cornmeal called white cap flint, which, unfortunately, isn't available anywhere else. I've substituted a good-quality stone-ground white cornmeal from my mid-Atlantic region with excellent results.

  The large, homespun loaf has a mild, go-with-anything flavor and a delightful crusty-chewy top. It has a finer, moister crumb than most cornbreads, the result of the cornmeal being combined with boiling water and turned into a mush first. This simple, seemingly unimportant step makes a big difference in taste, too: Due to chemical changes that occur as the cornmeal begins to cook, the bread is noticeably mellow and sweet, even though no sugar is added. (For more on the chemistry behind the technique, see The Chemistry Behind the Steps.)

  Pao de milho is doubtless a derivative of broa, a staple cornbread in the poorer regions of Portugal. Corn was introduced into Portugal and Spain from the New World, probably by whalers or fishermen sailing from the New England coast. The Portuguese immigrants who settled in Massachusetts and Rhode Island eventually returned the favor, introducing this very enticing yeast bread back here. Serve it with meals, along with butter, toast it, or grill it and use in all sorts of hearty meat, cheese, and roasted vegetable sandwiches.

  Yield: 1 large loaf, 12 to 14 portions or slices

  1 1/3 cups boiling water

  1¼ cups cornmeal, preferably white stone-ground, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish

  3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached white bread flour, plus more as needed

  2 teaspoons table salt

  ¾ teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast

  1¼ cups ice water, plus more if needed

  Corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless vegetable oil or oil spray for loaf top

  First Rise In a medium bowl, gradually stir the boiling water into the cornmeal until smoothly incorporated. Let cool thoroughly. In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Gradually but vigorously stir the ice water into the cooled cornmeal until very smoothly blended. Then vigorously stir the cornmeal mixture into the bowl with the flour, scraping down the sides until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. If too dry to mix completely, a bit at a time, stir in just enough more ice water to blend the ingredients; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If the dough is soft, vigo
rously stir in enough more flour to stiffen it. Brush or spray the top with vegetable oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.

  Second Rise Vigorously stir the dough, adding more flour if needed to yield a hard-to-stir dough. Using an oiled rubber spatula, fold the dough in towards the center all the way around. Brush or spray the top with oil. Re-cover with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.

  Let Rise Using Any of These Methods For a 1½- to 2½-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1- to 2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 12 hours, then set out at room temperature. Continue the rise until the dough doubles from the deflated size, removing the plastic if the dough nears it.