The Great No-Knead Bread Experiment: Part 1 (of 2)

I rarely buy bread. I think the cheap stuff basically tastes like Styrofoam, and I usually talk myself out of the expensive stuff (don’t need it, I can make something that tastes better, I’d rather have pizza anyway) so I don’t usually buy that either. And since it kind of takes a while to make bread, I rarely do that, so the house is nearly always bread-free. (Don’t worry. I’m careful about getting my daily allotment of carbs—I make up for it in pasta.)

As I was procrastinating dreadfully taking a much-needed break from writing final papers today, I stumbled across this post about no-knead breads.

Clearly this is something that I had to try immediately, and so, without further ado, The Great No-Knead Bread Experiment—Part 1:  

Here’s what you need:

3 cups of flour (I used all-purpose, bread flour is also fine)

1/4 tsp yeast (careful- this is not a pack. Measure it.)

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 5/8 cups water

Here’s what you do:

1. Blend together the dry ingredients.

2. Add the water and stir.

3. Cover with plastic wrap.

4. Set in a warm area for 12-18 hours. My  (admittedly cursory) online research seems to indicate that longer is better, so I’m shooting for the 18 hour mark.

And I’ll be back tomorrow with the second half of this project. So far I’m really loving how quick this part of the recipe went together—this might be a recipe I can incorporate into normal life, instead of saving for special occasions.  Tomorrow the dough is going to get a quick fold, another (shorter) rising session, some time in the oven, and we’ll be done. Can’t wait!