Happy National Homemade Bread Day. Back when I made a peasant loaf as a component of a meal for the Tour de France, my fiancé mentioned a great recipe from Mark Bittman back when he was at the New York Times. In the article/video, he claimed that this no-knead bread recipe was so simple, even a 6-year old could do it. Today, I decided to find out if that is really the case.
I employed the help of my 7 year old (close enough) daughter who has no real experience to speak of in the kitchen as my guinea pig. We watched the video once and got right to it. While there were a couple of little bumps in the road, one which I thought was a huge problem when it happened, the resulting product was awesome! Amazing crust, thanks to using polenta-style cornmeal, outstanding crumb texture and pretty great flavor. It’s not complex like a sourdough, but it’s tasty.
It was a great bonding experience with my daughter and she was extremely proud of, and satisfied with, her efforts. Even if you have no children...and say maybe you’re not the best cook, or know someone who wants to contribute to a big meal but doesn’t feel comfortable in the kitchen, this recipe is so, so easy and a real confidence booster.
If you have a child making this, I’d only suggest going over incorporating the water into the dry ingredients. It’s supposed to be a very quick process. With little hands, they may not get it. This is the part I was worried about greatly in the process. I added a little bit more water (which I adjusted in my adaptation of the recipe) to help try and get all of the dry ingredients wet, but there was still a little bit left over. Initially, I was going to dump the small excess. But, I decided to keep it as it was (as a child would do) and it turned out just fine! The only other adult-supervision comment is to dump the loaf in and handle the hot pot yourself, not the child. We don’t want any trips to the burn ward, ok? The crust on this loaf was so crunchy and divinely flavored. Look at that bread texture...make this soon!
No-knead Bread
adapted from The New York Times, Jim Lahey & Mark Bittman
If you don’t have a large group, you’ll have some leftover bread. Wrap it up to preserve for a day or so. If it gets hard/stale, DON’T throw it away. You can do any of the following: make homemade croutons or breadcrumbs, make Panzanella (Cube some bread and soften it with a little water in a large bowl. Add in diced vegetables, herbs, olive oil and seasonings.), use slices to top your Garbure Béarnaise or traditional French Onion Soup, or as the base of the lesser-known Lyonnaise-style Onion Soup.
3 â…“ cup of bread flour
2 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp instant rapid-rise yeast
1 ¾ water
Polenta style cornmeal (about ½ cup)
In a large stainless steel or glass bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients and give a quick stir. Add in the water and, using one hand, quickly pull in the dry ingredients from the side until everything starts to get wet and comes together (about 5-10 quick stirs). Cover with cling wrap and let sit for 18 hours.
After 18 hours, dust a work surface with flour. Dump the dough onto the floured work surface and sprinkle with flour. In a clockwise manner, pull the edge of the dough from 12-to-6, 3-to-9, 6-to-12, and 9-to-3 and flip the dough ball. Cover loosely with the leftover cling wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, lay a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle generously with cornmeal. Quickly reform the dough into a round, pick it up and place it onto the cornmeal-coated towel. Sprinkle the top of the dough generously with more cornmeal and cover with another kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 2 hours.
After 90 minutes of resting, place a large dutch oven into the bottom third of your oven and preheat to 450 for 30 minutes. Then remove the pot from the oven, take the top towel off the bread, and lift the dough with the bottom towel and flip the towel over the pot (flipping the dough in the process). If the dough isn’t centered in the pot, give it a jiggle until it positions properly.
Put the top back on the pot and place the covered dutch oven back in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes covered. After 30 minutes, remove the pot top and bake, uncovered, for 25 more minutes. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
_________________________ Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.