patrícia furtado

It’s only natural to react with a bit of suspicion when we come across a recipe as strange as no-knead bread. Something so simple and easy sure feels like cutting corners and it’s hard to believe that proper delicious bread can really come out of there. But even to my mum’s disbelief, it does. Dense, tasty, crusty, yummy bread.

Apparently, it all started in New York, in Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery in Hell’s Kitchen (which I didn’t visit, by the way, as I only discovered this when I got back from my holiday). Then Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist, wrote about it in his NY Times blog, which caught the attention of another of my favourite food bloggers, Tony Tahhan.

And when I read Tony’s post, I knew I had to try it myself. It really is very easy, and the results are fantastic. Midway through the process, looking into that blob of sticky dough, a hint of a doubt may have started creeping up, but good things come to those who wait… And that fragrant loaf of bread coming out of the oven sure was a good thing!

No-Knead Bread, by Jim Lahey

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cornmeal, wheat bran or plain flour to dust

Place the flour, yeast and salt on a large bown, and slowly stir in the water, until uniform.
Cover the bowl with cling film and forget about it for 12-18 hours, while if ferments and gets all bubbly.

Dust thoroughly the work surface and your hands with flour, and then take the extremely sticky dough out of the bowl and fold it a couple of times over it self. Wrap it in a flour coated cotton towel , and let it rise for two more hors.

Preheat your oven and a lidded pan or pot inside to 260ºC - 280ºC. The pan can be metal or ceramics, as long as it can stand the high temperature. When the oven is really hot, invert the dough into the preheated vessel and cook covered for 30 minutes, and then uncovered for another 15 minutes, until golden and beautiful.

Yummy as it may look and smell, don’t be too impatient and let it cool a bit before going for it, or you might burn your tongue and fingertips - don’t say i didn’t warn you!