Quick no knead bread will take you about 5 minutes of hands on time, and the rest of the time is allowing it to prove and bake. This is the method that usually takes 18-24 hours, but by using hot water it speeds things along nicely. No kneading involved. What’s not to like. It’s airy, golden, crusty and delicious.
This Bread is Going to Make Your Day
With our world rapidly going into lockdown, Los Angeles being the latest city today, it’s time for some home baking and this quick no knead bread will be ready in about 4 1/2 hours, of which you’ll spend roughly 5, yep 5 minutes putting it together.
Jim Lahey, of the famous artisan Sullivan Street Bakeries in America introduced the concept of baking this bread through Mark Bittman, of the New York Times back in 2006. Apparently it was an instant success, and rightfully so. It’s just too easy.
Couldn’t Be Easier to Make
You simply add flour, salt, yeast and water in a bowl, and stir with a spoon. Allow to sit, shape and bake. That’s it!
The dough will grow, and become ‘holey’. This is good.
A Forgiving Dough
Don’t worry if you don’t get the bread into the oven after its resting time as it’s happy to hang around on the bench for an extra couple of hours. We like.
What Pot to Use?
You’ll need a heavy cast iron pan with a lid. A dutch oven or heavy casserole dish is what you’ll need. The pot essentially traps the steam and cooks the bread. Further reading has showed that some have successfully used a baking tray with a metal bowl over the top of the dough to bake.
Watch How To Make Quick No Knead Bread
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Check out some more home baking recipes for lockdown
click on the link for the recipe…..Chocolate Chip Cookies with Macadamia
click on the link for the recipe…..Chocolate Nemesis Cake – River Cafe
click on the link…..Almond Cookies – Gluten Free
click on the link for the recipe…..Forgotten Meringue Cookies
click on the link for the recipe…..Edna’s Lemon Curd Cake
Who doesn’t love a crusty, golden loaf with a soft airy centre? We would love to hear how you enjoyed this quick no knead bread in the comments below.
Wherever you are in the world, we hope you are safe from this virus, and are looking after yourselves and loved ones.
Quick No Knead Bread
This quick, no knead bread is seriously hands off in effort and the only thing you need going for you is time to let it prove. The oven does all the work to create a crusty, golden, airy bread. Hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
- 400g plain (all purpose) flour (14 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast - check your yeasts use by date
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine table salt
- 1 1/2 cups of hot water (52-54c or 125f - 130f), not boiling - boiling water kills the yeast (355ml or 12 fluid ounces)
- handful of flour for shaping
Instructions
- combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl
- stir to evenly distribute the yeast into the flour and salt
- add the water and stir until it's well combined - dough will be' shaggy', meaning not smooth, but bitsy and very sticky
- cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 3 hours (dough will rise and be dotted with bubbles)
- transfer dough to a well floured bench and sprinkle some flour on top of the dough
- using a scraper fold the dough over 10-12 times and shape into a rough ball
- place a sheet of baking paper in a clean bowl
- tip dough onto the paper and cover with a tea towel
- leave dough to stand for about 30 minutes
- meanwhile place a heavy cast iron casserole dish with lid into a cold oven
- turn oven on and heat to 235c (450f) bake not fan
- when temperature is reached, remove pot from oven - obviously the pot is extremely hot
- lift the baking paper with the dough into the pot and cover with the lid
- bake for 30 minutes
- after 30 minutes remove lid and discard paper
- return bread to pot and bake (uncovered) for a further 10-20 minutes, depending on how dark you like your bread
- OPTIONAL
- at the end of the cooking time, turn the oven off and leave the oven door slightly ajar
- leave the loaf in the oven for a further 20 minutes, this creates a wonderful thick crust
- remove from oven and place bread on a cooling rack
- slice away and enjoy!
Cooper
Mister Cooper just loves to chew and Jen’s frangipane branches that she had drying ready to plant this coming spring was his latest quest. Lucky Jen caught him in the nick of time. Phew, some days you just get lucky!
6 comments
Poor Cooper!
POOR COOPER!
I first attempted this recipe last week, I only had 1/2 the amount of white flour so I made up the other 1/2 with wholemeal. Came out a bit heavy, but it is absolutely wonderful when toasted, the crust is crunchy and the inside moist and chewy. I am now baking it again today with all white flour, to see the difference. I hope it comes out as good as my first mistake! So easy to make. Very impressed with the end result for such an easy recipe.
Hi Darlene, thanks for your comments. We’re thrilled it worked using 50/50 flour.The wholemeal would make it a little heavier, but still moist and chewy, with a great crust. Love to hear what you think of the bread using all white flour. Regards, Jo and Jen
This is the nicest bread I’ve ever tasted. Thanks girls.
Hi Carol, so pleased you enjoyed the bread, we also think it’s one of the easiest, and tastiest bread recipes with a terrific crust, especially when toasted. Regards, Jen and Jo