No-knead bread
This recipe has recently been hugely popular on bread websites and discussion groups after it was featured in a New York Times article. The method consists of making a wet dough and using a long autolysis instead of kneading to allow the gluten to develop. The fermented dough is then baked using some sort of cover or "cloche" to trap the moisture that evaporates during the first part of baking, allowing a crisp, baguette-type crust to form. You can either use a baking stone and a large ovenproof mixing bowl, or a cast iron casserole dish with a lid.
Ingredients
450g strong bread flour (white, wholemeal, or a mixture)
300ml water
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp "easyblend" dried yeast
Method
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until all the flour is wet. Cover with clingfilm and ferment for 18-24 hours at cool room temperature.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop, and dust the top very sparingly with flour - don't overdo it, you just want enough so that you can touch it very lightly without it sticking to your fingers. Using floured hands, gently stretch the dough to about 45cm/18" wide, then fold the left and right thirds over the middle (as you would fold a letter to go in an envelope). Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave it to rest for ten minutes.
Repeat the stretching and folding process but this time from front to back instead of side to side. You probably won't be able to stretch the dough so far this time. You should end up with a fairly neat square loaf. If you are baking on a baking stone, place the loaf on a piece of non-stick baking parchment. Cover it either with oiled clingfilm or a large inverted mixing bowl and leave to prove for one hour.
Forty five minutes before you put the bread in the oven, preheat the oven and baking stone or cast iron casserole dish to the hottest setting. When ready to bake, either slide the dough and baking parchment onto the baking stone and cover with the heatproof bowl, or carefully remove the hot casserole dish, place the dough inside it and put the lid on top, then put it back in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the bowl or lid and bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes.
