Best home made-better-than-bakery-crusty bread easy NYT recipe!

[Paula]

Here's an unbelievably wonderful tasting no-knead bread recipe that is easy and just as good -- even better -- than the crusty chewy beautiful shaped bread you buy at a bakery (it would be like a round, medium high, crusty Italian bread). If you serve it, people will assume it's from a great bakery. It's from a New York Times recipe. I tried it this weekend and it was very easy (no kneading, though you have to schedule the time right) and we just tasted it and I'll be making it again and again. I'm going to try making some loaves and freezing them to see how well they freeze (I imagine they'll freeze as nicely as other bakery bread does). Here's the recipe -- well worth the try. You'll melt when you taste this bread.

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting (I used bread flour though I'll try regular flour next time)
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed (I put oat flakes on top, though you can use any kind of flake, seeds -- e.g., sunflower, poppy, sesame -- that you like)

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron - that's what I used, enamel, Pyrex - remember pyrex can sometimes break in very hot ovens especially if you put cool things on them, or ceramic) in oven as it heats. Don't put any grease or anything like that in the pot. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

I'm deeply in love with this bread.

[DD]

Paula, it sounds wonderful!! Don't think I've got time to mix it up before the 8th , but I will for sure try it for a special occasion. Now, what would that special occasion be?? Tuesday sounds good.

[Paula]

You'll love it DD. Here's an article about the bread recipe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/di...e204f2&ei=5070

[Gypsea]

Thanks Paula for the good article ~ I'll be sure to try it!

[DD]

Great article!! I'm sure I will love it. You know, I truly could live by bread alone....well, with a little butter.

[Paula]

I'm toasting up a nice piece of bread now to have with butter and a cup of tea. I, too, could live by bread alone.

When Tootsie hears about this bread, she'll be very happy...

[DD]

I'm toasting up a nice piece of bread now to have with butter and a cup of tea. I, too, could live by bread alone.

When Tootsie hears about this bread, she'll be very happy...

Can we go on an all bread diet?

[Paula]

Well, all I had for lunch today was one piece of this bread with butter, and now I'll have my second piece toasted with butter. So, I'm figuring that's about the same number of calories as lunch would be anyway. I've already got the dough made (takes about 5 minutes or less) and sitting for the 17 - 18 hour wait until tomorrow to finish it. I think this is going to be quite the habit.

[Beach Runner]

Think it'd work in a bread machine? That's the only way I can successfully make bread.

[Paula]

I don't think the bread machine will work because you're not supposed to knead the bread. But you could give it a try to see what happens. It's actually easier to not use the bread machine with this recipe (though I used to use the bread machine all the time and maybe you'll inspire me to do it again).

[jackie]

I've made many loaves of this bread. My chowhound site has over 300 posts on the ins and outs of the bread. I've found (as have many others) that if you increase the amount of salt to l 3/4 tea. and decrease the amount of water to l l/2 cups, you get a much better tasting loaf.You can also add many other ingred. to the bread-kalamta olives and rosemary is a really good one. If you change the size of the pot to a 3 quart ,you get a higher loaf. The type of pot you use also changes the crust of the loaf. I've found by using a corning or terra cota pot, the crust is nice and crackly and doesn't burn on the bottom at all. I really think the secret is the baking methold as much as the recipe itself. We will be spending the next 2 months in so wal and I'm really looking forward to baking this bread there. Anxious to see if your warmer temps changes the time of the first rise. Here in the cold north in the winter, it's hard to find a place in my house that is warm enough for the long rise. I love making this bread, it makes me feel like I can really bake a great loaf of artisian bread!
Really, try this recipe--it's so easy and you'll be amazed at how good it is.

[Beach Runner]

I don't think the bread machine will work because you're not supposed to knead the bread. But you could give it a try to see what happens. It's actually easier to not use the bread machine with this recipe (though I used to use the bread machine all the time and maybe you'll inspire me to do it again).

Yeah, that makes sense.

[DD]

I can't wait to try it!

[aquaticbiology]

heat a teaspoon of fresh rosemary in a bit of olive oil in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it, add a well-drained, small jar of sliced mushrooms, mix and add to the bread as you make it - YUMMY! (from the Eclipse resturant at Pearl River Resort)

yes, i got my dried rosemary in sowal - i hope the bushes are still there

[Mermaid]

I have some bags of King Arthur flour (the best) so I think I might very well give this a try, especially since we forgo the kneading. I absolutely love a good hunk of bread, so I thank you for the recipe, Paula.

[Paula]

Aquabiotic: I've thought about adding things to this bread and rosemary would be on the top of my list. I'm making my second batch today, and will soon start to experiment with it. I imagine chives would be good (not with the rosemary) as well. Also, it would be very tasty to dip this bread in a nice olive oil and rosemary dip (with a little salt, too).

[Mermaid]

Aquabiotic: I've thought about adding things to this bread and rosemary would be on the top of my list. I'm making my second batch today, and will soon start to experiment with it. I imagine chives would be good (not with the rosemary) as well. Also, it would be very tasty to dip this bread in a nice olive oil and rosemary dip (with a little salt, too).

Paula, I know someone in SoWal who has rosemary growing all over her yard. Not that you need an excuse to get to the beach, though.

[Paula]

Oh, I better get to the beach. We have some growing near our place as well... good idea. This would be a very good bread to make if you're staying at the beach for several days since it's so easy with no kneading. You have to have a big covered pot, though. I'm making my third loaf since last weekend tomorrow. The kids keep panting when they see it coming out of the oven and pretty much run me over to get a slice and butter it and eat it hot!

[Beach Runner]

Paula, I know someone in SoWal who has rosemary growing all over her yard. Not that you need an excuse to get to the beach, though.

I have a nice crop. Snip away, in an artistic manner.

[DD]

OMG!!!!!!!! PAULA!!!!!!!!!!! Made it, ate it...gonna make more!!
I must admit, I had my doubts right up until the time I put it in the oven....it was sticky and hard to handle, but came out absolutely fabulous!! Even got the thumbs up from mr. dd who is not a bread fan!! He's had four slices!

[Paula]

Isn't it AMAZING, DD?!?!. It's one of those recipes that once people try it they make it again and again. It really is just as good -- even better -- than bread you buy at a bakery -- doughy and moist with great texture and holes on the inside, perfectly crusty on the outside. I find that it makes a higher bread if I use bread flour and it tastes just as good but makes a somewhat flatter loaf if I use regular flour. The recipe has worked evey time I make it. I made 3 loaves this weekend and have the dough rising to make 2 more loaves tomorrow morning and I'm freezing the loaves so we have it when we want it and don't have time to bake it. To make a few loaves at a time, I make two batches of the dough (in 2 separate bowls) and then I bake them one at after the other when the timing is right. It works because the timing is flexible and you can let the dough rise overnight for 15 - 18 hours or so.

I may start getting creative with rosemary and other herbs inside the bread sometime soon. It's perfect bread for dipping in olive oil and rosemary.

[Margarita]

Paula - Do you think it would be ok to use wheat flour?

[ItzKatzTime]

OMG!!!!!!!! PAULA!!!!!!!!!!! Made it, ate it...gonna make more!!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!!!!!!!! DD

This sounds so good and comforting too. I've got to try it. First I have to do a carb detox from today!

Carbs for Kat for at least a week!

[DD]

Isn't it AMAZING, DD?!?!. It's one of those recipes that once people try it they make it again and again. It really is just as good -- even better -- than bread you buy at a bakery -- doughy and moist with great texture and holes on the inside, perfectly crusty on the outside. I find that it makes a higher bread if I use bread flour and it tastes just as good but makes a somewhat flatter loaf if I use regular flour. The recipe has worked evey time I make it. I made 3 loaves this weekend and have the dough rising to make 2 more loaves tomorrow morning and I'm freezing the loaves so we have it when we want it and don't have time to bake it. To make a few loaves at a time, I make two batches of the dough (in 2 separate bowls) and then I bake them one at after the other when the timing is right. It works because the timing is flexible and you can let the dough rise overnight for 15 - 18 hours or so.

I may start getting creative with rosemary and other herbs inside the bread sometime soon. It's perfect bread for dipping in olive oil and rosemary.

Oh yeah, I can see getting experiemental with it! It's going in my cook book!! Thanks so much for turning us on to this!!

OMG!!!!!!!! PAULA!!!!!!!!!!! Made it, ate it...gonna make more!!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!!!!!!!! DD

This sounds so good and comforting too. I've got to try it. First I have to do a carb detox from today!

Carbs for Kat for at least a week!

Thanks, Kat!!! You just gotta try it---when you can

[Allifunn]

Paula, it sounds wonderful!! Don't think I've got time to mix it up before the 8th , but I will for sure try it for a special occasion. Now, what would that special occasion be?? Tuesday sounds good.

With all the accolades, I just printed out this recipe...can't wait to try it...I love a bread that needs no kneeding!!!!!! ( I hate kneedy bread.... )

[Paula]

ItzkatzTime: You'll love it...

Margarita: I don't know about wheat flour, but it's worthy trying. I'll probably try part wheat and part regular some day. But I must say that it tastes like rustic Italian bread just as is, and it's hard to beat that.

DD: This definitely goes in the family cookbook.

Allifunn: I figured you'd want to try this once you rested up from your vacation.

If you look up New York Times No Knead bread recipe on google, you'll see that it has about as many hits as Paris Hilton. It got a lot of press when it was first published. I learned about it from my mother in law when we visited her over New Years in Siesta Key. She swears a lot so we call the bread "Grandma's damn bread". The kids love that!

This bread and the limoncello cream recipes got my "best new recipes of 2006 award".

[Paula]

A word of advice. You have to heat up a pot to 450 degrees then take it out of the oven and put the dough in it. Be careful not to burn anything on your counter or oven top when you put the pot on the counter/stove. I think I may have melted the fan button on top of our stove by putting the hot pot on it.

[Margarita]

Thanks for the advise Paula - can't wait to try it.

[Paula]

You're welcome, Margarita. I think it's going to cost us a pretty penny to replace that melted knob, but I still think the bread was worth it.

[Teresa]

thanks for this recipe paula! I will try this for sure! nothing like a hot piece of homemade rustic italian bread, slathered with real butter!!! can't wait to give this a shot!!!

[DD]

thanks for this recipe paula! I will try this for sure! nothing like a hot piece of homemade rustic italian bread, slathered with real butter!!! can't wait to give this a shot!!!

Toots, you will love it!!

[Paula]

And you can make it from bed, Tootsie, it's so easy. The dough can rise right next to your bed! And the men of the house can put the bread in the oven and take it out and bring it to you right out of the oven with some butter on the side.

[Teresa]

And you can make it from bed, Tootsie, it's so easy. The dough can rise right next to your bed! And the men of the house can put the bread in the oven and take it out and bring it to you right out of the oven with some butter on the side.

[jpbhen]

i made the bread, and it was great. however, i have a couple of questions. how high did yours get? i did mine in a 7 qt pot - it did not seem to rise in any direction after i put it in the oven. it ended up being about 2 1/2 inches high at the center, and about 8 or 9 inches in diameter. does that sound right? i added fibersure in order to make it more weight watchers friendly. fibersure has never affected an outcome in anything i have added it to, but i really should have made a loaf per original instructions first before tinkering with it. could you let me know whether my outcome sounds right? the bread is WONDERFUL!! also - i would love to add olives to make the bread like that served at 331. how many? any special instructions? do i add them before the last 2 hour rise? thanks for the help. and for the recipe!

[Paula]

Nice drooling, Tootsie. You will definitely drool -- put a little butter on the bread or dip it in olive oil and rosemary...

jpbhen: It's not a high rising bread in general. I've made about 7 loaves and all taste great (the kids beg me to make it and if I want attention from them I just make the bread). I find that it rises a bit higher when I use bread flour rather than regular flour but the taste is the same. I also think the height may be related to how long you let it rise the first and second time. The loaves always come out a bit different from each other, but I think 2.5 inches high and about 7-8 inches around is about right. I haven't tried adding anything else yet, but may start doing so soon.

I think I'll go set up the dough so we can have a nice loaf of bread tomorrow. What I do is make dough in two different bowls and bake them both the next day -- one to use and one to freeze so we can just take it out of the freezer when we want it. It freezes very well, too.

[DD]

I actually let mine go for longer than 18 hours...got busy..and it turned out fine. Mine was probably about the same height, Paula. I think I probably ate a whole stick of butter with it... now, I'm off to SoWell

[Paula]

i made the bread, and it was great. however, i have a couple of questions. how high did yours get? i did mine in a 7 qt pot - it did not seem to rise in any direction after i put it in the oven. it ended up being about 2 1/2 inches high at the center, and about 8 or 9 inches in diameter. does that sound right? i added fibersure in order to make it more weight watchers friendly. fibersure has never affected an outcome in anything i have added it to, but i really should have made a loaf per original instructions first before tinkering with it. could you let me know whether my outcome sounds right? the bread is WONDERFUL!! also - i would love to add olives to make the bread like that served at 331. how many? any special instructions? do i add them before the last 2 hour rise? thanks for the help. and for the recipe!

Beach Angel. I made the bread again this weekend (4 loaves, froze two). The way to make the bread higher is to pat it into a ball that's higher and not quite so wide. The higher it is when you pat it into a ball before it rises, the higher it will be when it comes out of the oven. I think my new loaves are about 4 inches high.

[jpbhen]

thanks for the info - i will try that with my next loaf. i sliced some tonight and made garlic bread, toasted in the oven. heavenly! i add fibersure to make it more weight-watchers friendly (about 8 T), and it makes it more dense (i made my first loaf according to your directions). but the flavor is still terrific. glad to hear that it freezes well - i need to coordinate my efforts so i can knock off a couple of loaves at one time, and freeze them. thanks!

[Paula]

I'm glad you love this bread as much as we do. I made those 4 loaves on Saturday/Sunday and the kids (mostly the kids, that is) have gone through 3 loaves already. I like the idea that they love it so much and like to bring it to school. One of the things I remember from when we were little with our Italian grandmother was to put unsalted butter on the bread sprinkled with a little sugar, so the kids like to bring the bread to school that way because it feels like a real treat.

DD: The timing of the bread is indeed flexible. It seems to come out a little differently depending on how long it rises, but you're right that it's always delicious. I think the the holes in the bread get larger the longer it rises and the density can differ. But it works every time.

[Teresa]

paula and friends: bread report...

my mother is an expert italian bread maker (she's made it by hand for many years. she has tried the machine bread, but it just can't do the job as she can). anyway, she wasn't exactly sure what to make of the printed recipe, had some doubts. however, being the breadmaker that she is (she had seen some of your remarks on this thread), she just had to give it a try.

guess what? she LOVED it and will add this to her bread making routine.

can't wait to try it. will do so soon.

[DD]

paula and friends: bread report...

my mother is an expert italian bread maker (she's made it by hand for many years. she has tried the machine bread, but it just can't do the job as she can). anyway, she wasn't exactly sure what to make of the printed recipe, had some doubts. however, being the breadmaker that she is (she had seen some of your remarks on this thread), she just had to give it a try.

guess what? she LOVED it and will add this to her bread making routine.

can't wait to try it. will do so soon.

I KNOW!!! I had my doubts too--but it's wonderful!! Yippee for Mom!!

[shakennotstirred]

This bread is incredible! Just took a loaf out of the oven & it smells delicious. Hopefully it survives until dinner!

[Teresa]

This bread is incredible! Just took a loaf out of the oven & it smells delicious. Hopefully it survives until dinner!

what a great idea - freshly baked bread on Super Bowl Sunday!

[jpbhen]

love it. have tried a few variations:
1. 1 cup grated asiago
2. 2T fresh chopped rosemary
3. 2T knorr dry pesto mix
4. 1 cup rye flour, 2 cups white plus 2T caraway seeds for nice rye bread

all of these have turned out great. i am going to experiment a bit more with the rye bread - might use half and half, and add a bit of gluten to help it rise. i have a loaf of rosemary, and a loaf of asiago with a bit of rosemary, both resting tonight. however, it is COLD in the house - only about 12 degrees in cincinnati tonight. hope it rises ok! on our way back to seagrove next weekend for a quick week at the house - and i'm sure more bread baking!!

[Paula]

jpbhen:

thanks for the variations. I'm ready to try some new ideas. I love the bread so much and it's so easy to make that I'm going to get a dutch oven for our cottages so that we can make home-made bread when we're in SoWal. the only trick will be the timing (the two hour rising time at the end and then the 40 min. cooking time). There's quite a bit of flexibility with the first rising. I've taken to making two batches of dough and then cooking one right after the other and freezing the second one. Unless everyone eats the first one within the first hour...

[Mermaid]

This bread recipe is making the rounds. It showed up in this past Sunday's Chicago Tribune newspaper. They had a gorgeous picture of a freshly baked, freshly cut loaf of bread. Yum.

[Paula]

I just saw a loaf that looked exactly like this one from the recipe selling for $5.75 at a market. I can't help it, but I love to make the same thing for about $1.00 a loaf at home and it tastes as good if not better hot out of the oven and makes the house smell so good. I made so many loaves when I first got the recipe (and froze several) that the kids got sick of it but they're starting to ask for it again... Perhaps this weekend I'll make more.

[SGB]

Ok, I finally got around to trying out this bread recipe, but was a little stumped at step 1! I've never made bread before, so please forgive my ignorance! What exactly is "instant yeast"? At Publix and Brunos I found "active dry yeast" and "rapid rise highly active yeast" and "breadmaker yeast". Is the "rapid rise highly active yeast" the same thing as "instant yeast"? If not, what is it and where can I get some? Thanks!

Edit: Found a site on-line that explained that instant yeast is the same as rapid rise.

[seacrestkristi]

Me too sounds yummy Paula you rock! thanks for sharing. Hubbabubba will think I'm really doin' sumpin' if I bake this. Hope it turns out. I've been known to bake bricks.

[Jdarg]

Ok, I finally got around to trying out this bread recipe, but was a little stumped at step 1! I've never made bread before, so please forgive my ignorance! What exactly is "instant yeast"? At Publix and Brunos I found "active dry yeast" and "rapid rise highly active yeast" and "breadmaker yeast". Is the "rapid rise highly active yeast" the same thing as "instant yeast"? If not, what is it and where can I get some? Thanks!

Edit: Found a site on-line that explained that instant yeast is the same as rapid rise.

Oh SGB- I don't like to bake anything involving yeast- yeast just confuses the whole baking feng shui for me. And I always get mixed up on the yeast thing.