Boule: No-Knead Crusty Bread - The World's Food

By The World's Food

Yield: 8

Time: 24 hours, largely unattended

This easy crusty bread recipe will convince you to make bread more often at home. It's delicious and feels like you have your very own boulangerie.

Ingredients

3     cups bread flour
1/4     teaspoon instant yeast
2     teaspoons salt
1 1/2     cups water

Preparation

Step 1
Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl and mix together

Step 2
Slowly add water until the dough reaches an elastic consistency with a sticky surface.  Adjust the amount of water based on the consistency of the dough

Step 3
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature 18 hours

Step 4
After fermentation, the surface of the dough will be dotted with holes

Step 5
Lightly flour a work surface and the dough and fold the dough over on itself once or twice

Step 6
Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest 15 minutes

Step 7
Lightly flour dough and quickly and gently shape the dough into a ball

Step 8
Generously coat a cotton towel with flour and put dough on towel seam side down

Step 9
Dust dough with flour, cover with another cotton towel and let rise 2 hours

Step 10
40 minutes before dough has completely risen, heat oven to 450 degrees F and place a 4-½ quart Dutch oven inside while the oven is heating

Step 11
When dough is ready, place in the hot Dutch oven seam side up

Step 12
Put the hot lid over the Dutch oven, place into hot oven and bake 30 minutes

Step 13
Remove lid and bake another 15 minutes, or until loaf is completely browned

Step 14
Cool on a rack

Note: Original recipe by Jim Lahey, as modified by Mark Bittman, found here.

See It Made!