Several months ago I found myself housebound due to illness. I started feeling better after a while, but I still wasn’t really feeling up for leaving the house. I needed something to do with my time. Maybe baking?

I’d heard about no-knead bread years ago, but I truly didn’t believe it was as easy as the recipe claimed it was. Since I now had extra time on my hands, I figured I’d give it a go. Spoiler: it was as easy as the recipe said, and it was the BEST loaf of bread I’d ever baked by a long shot. Honestly, the only hard part about this bread is remembering to start the dough it a day in advance.

I used this recipe published by Mark Bittman from his book How to Cook Everything, although he gives credit to bakery owner Jim Lahey. Mr. Bittman suggested you could replace up to 30% of the flour with other whole-grain flours, so I used one cup of whole wheat and three cups of all-purpose instead of all white flour. I liked it so much that I’ve done it that way every time.

Any time I’ve shared this bread with friends, they automatically think I’m some kind of master baker or bread magician. Nope. It’s just that easy and that good. Enjoy!

Cast iron Dutch oven and a round loaf of bread
During the final rise, I used a banneton, which gives the crust that pretty flour pattern.

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