Most people I know (my past self included) take a step back when you talk to them about making their own doughs. Bread, pie, croissants (actually, there are good reasons to think twice before embarking on this journey), pizza, cinnamon rolls and so on. I get it, working with yeast it’s intimidating. A small mistake, like the wrong water temperature, can ruin your whole batch and your whole evening. It seems like too much math for a relaxing night of baking, right?
Well, it is until it isn’t. Once you understand how yeast works, why it works and why it doesn’t, everything aligns and a whole new world of baking adventures awaits! I’m not going to get into details about baking with yeast, because smarter people than me already written about it (here’s a nice guide, by the way), but I strongly encourage you to take some time and read about it.
Today I’m going to give you the recipe for the easiest bread there is! If you’re thinking about trying to make your own bread but feel intimidated, this is the perfect recipe to begin your new adventure with. This is a no-knead bread, meaning you don’t need a stand mixer for it and you also don’t need to get your arms sore for this bread! You basically just mix the ingredients and let the magic happen. The hardest thing about this recipe is the waiting time.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 3 hours |
| Servings |
1 loaf
|
- 8 grams instant yeast
- 375 grams water
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 10 grams salt
Ingredients
|
|
- Scale - Weigh all of the ingredients separately before you begin. This helps keep everything accurate.
- Combine - In a large bowl, disperse the yeast into the water with a gentle swish of your fingers, like making a bubble bath. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. You should see a light foaming from the yeast, letting you know that it is feeling lively and ready to work with. Next, add the flour on top of the water&yeast mixture. Last, sprinkle the salt on top of the flour. This keeps it from coming into direct contact with the yeast, which can inhibit the rise.
- Mix - Mix everything by hand or using a wooden spoon. The ingredients should come together easily and produce a slack, wet dough. Then, let your dough relax for about 20 minutes, so the flour can absorb the water a bit.
- Fold* - Stretch and fold the dough, which will give it strength so it can hold its shape in the oven later. Imagine that your dough has four "corners". Pull each corner up and stretch it over the top of the dough to meet the opposite side. Visualizing a clock on the top of your bowl of dough, pull the 12 o'clock corner up and down to 6. Pull the 3 o'clock over to 9, then the 6 o'clock up to 12 and the 9 o'clock over 3. Work your way around the clock two or three times until the dough becomes tighter and no longer loose and stretchy.
- Rise - Place a floured kitchen towel or a plastic wrap over your bowl and let it rise for 1h30 minutes.
- Check - At 1 hour and 30 minutes, the dough should be noticeably lighter, larger and filled with air bubbles. If it isn't there yet, no worries. Let it rise a bit longer and check it again in 30 minutes or so.
- Shape** - Gently turn your dough onto a floured countertop. The bottom, which was in contact with the bowl, will be facing up to you. If it's sticking to the bowl, use your hand or a plastic scraper to release it. Shape this dough easily by giving it a gentle letter fold. You should end up with a nice little rounded square shape.
- Proof - Place your shaped dough into a basket lined with a floured kitchen towel, seam-side down and let it rise for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, until the dough feels airy, like a marshmallow.
- Preheat - While the dough is proofing, turn on your oven with an empty Dutch oven inside and let it preheat to 245°C. This may seem early to preheat the oven, but great bread needs a thoroughly hot oven for the best results
- Bake - Carefully pull your very hot Dutch oven out of the oven and place it on top of the stove with the lid next to it. Pick the dough up with your hands and gently drop it into the Dutch oven, seam-side up. Careful not to burn your hands.
- Check - at 25 minutes, take the cover off the Dutch oven. Continue baking with the cover removed for another 15 to 20 minutes. Your loaf will get some color and develop a nice crust.
- Cool - let your finished loaf cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes to let the interior crumb set, making it easier to slice. Enjoy!
Equipment needed
Cast iron dutch oven - If you don't have a Dutch oven (I strongly recommend one), you can use a baking stone or an oven-proof pot with a lid.
Kitchen Scale - you will need a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. This is very important and I strongly advise you to invest in one They're also relatively cheap and will make your life in the kitchen a lot easier.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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Storage: Leftover bread can be stored cut-side down at room temperature for up to 3 days. It can also be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and foil and frozen for up to 3 months.
Thanks for the tips, Tamiflu! That is correct 🙂