Toddler Baking! No Knead Bread
Why I Love This Recipe
This wonderful bread is a staple among all of my cross-country skiing friends. I first learned it from Brent McMurtry (then boyfriend, skier extraordinaire and amazing cook), who learned it from Dan Roycroft, who taught it to Devon Kershaw, who.... well, you get the picture.
I quite enjoy teaching kids to bake this bread on my babysitting adventures. It is so easy and such a great thing to do in an afternoon!
This bread delivers. Period.
Ingredients You'll Need
Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour (I like Harvest King bread flour)...ish
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast...ish
1 teaspoon fine table salt (or 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt)...ish
1 1/2 cups warm waterCovered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)...ish
Additions:
Rosemary and Olives, Raisins and pecans with cinnamon, cheddar cheese and garlic... chocolate chips?!
Directions
1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.
2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on counter. Plop your dough onto parchment paper. Lift parchment paper up with dough and place into a large bowl. Cover bowl with a towel. Let it nap for 15min to 2hrs. When you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.
3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Grab the ends of the parchment paper and lift entire wobbly dough blob out of bowl into pot. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter
