I applaud everyone who got into the whole sourdough bread-making thing last year. I was busy making pasta and dumplings, so I decided not to submit all my time to the all mighty queen of sourdough starter and all her needs. I am not organized enough to care for such a baby that doesn’t actually cry and demand attention. It is a bit like plants. I love them, I have 11 ficuses, but I am pretty bad at taking care of them. Now, this overnight easy no knead artisan bread only calls for 5 minutes of active work. You heard that right.
All you have to do is mix warm water, yeast, flour, and a drizzle of olive oil and salt and let all that rise and rest in a warm place for 12 hours at least. The best results are after 18 hours. To make sure that the bread doesn’t dry out, I cover it with a wet towel. The trick is to do it in a large bowl so there is no spillage. I do it in a large metal bowl, glass works too, but anyone making bread, swears that a clay bowl is the best one. When I get rich from creating lazy bread making recipes, I am going to buy these beauties. Have you ever seen bowls more beautiful?
The only thing you need for this is a dutch oven or a cast-iron pot. That is going to be like a smaller hotter oven for your bread. You are going to heat it along with the oven and bake your bread in there. I believe that any oven-safe pot with an oven-safe lid would also work.
The hardest part of making this bread is letting it cool. It is hard, but you have to let it cool and not let all that wonderful steam get out. It is tempting to just rip off a piece and smother it with butter and a sprinkle of salt and just go at it. But let it cool completely. And then you can do all sorts of stuff. Make bruschettas, grilled cheese sandwiches. Beautiful huge breakfast avocado toasts like all the cool kids do. Top it with whipped ricotta and some honey and make that your new favorite snack. This easy no knead artisan bread will take care of all your toast needs.
Easy no knead artisan bread
Equipment
- Dutch oven, cast iron pot
Ingredients
- 325 g warm water
- 375 g + more for dusting all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry yeast
Instructions
- In a bowl mix the yeast with warm water, let sit for 1 minute until bubbly
- Add the flour and the salt and mix
- The dough will be very shaggy
- Cover with a wet towel and let rise in room temperature for 18 hours
- Preheat your oven with the dutch oven or a cast iron pot to 235°C
- Place your bread on a sheet of parchment paper and generously dust with flour
- Fold it over itself from all 4 sides and turn over so the seam is facing down
- Dust with more flour and just tuck it into a ball (it will be pretty flat)
- Carefully place the parchment paper with the dough in the really hot pot and put the lid on
- Bake for 40 minutes
- Remove the lid
- Bake for 20 minutes
- Remove and let cool completely before cutting