No Knead Bread Baking Method
On this page, you will find both the short and long version videos of a basic no knead bread baking technique. See these variations of no knead recipe too.
Before we get started, I wanted to share an email I received from Leanna who says more for the benefits of the no knead method than I could ever convey. She says…
Love This Method
I’ve been baking bread for 40 years and this method has turned my bread baking upside down. I even had kneading down to an art. My dough had to feel just right. My ingredients had to be the best. Now I just throw these four items into a bowl and with no effort on my part, I end up with perfection. I take care of a lady with handicaps and bake it for her too. She has a gas oven and mine at home is electric. I have had no problems with this method. I used to have a sourdough starter but several moves ago, I discarded it. Now with your starter I am back in business. I can hardly wait for my first loaf of NK sourdough bread.
6 min. 40 sec.
12 min. long
Ingredients for basic yeasted No Knead Method:
3 cups bread flour (the above video used 1 cup (5 oz.) whole wheat flour and 2 cups (10 1/2 oz.) white bread flour
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups purified or spring water
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Mix in water until the water is incorporated.
- Cover with plastic and let sit 18 hours.
- Follow video instruction for folding.
- Cover loosely with plastic and rest for 15 minutes.
- Transfer to well floured towel or proofing basket. Cover with towel and let rise about 1 1/2 hours.
- Bake in covered La Cloche or Dutch oven preheated to 500 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Remove cover; reduce heat to 450 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.
- Let cool completely on rack.
- Consume bread, be happy.
Further notes: This method of baking is quite forgiving if you alter the ingredients and proportions. One of the great things about a bread recipe that is so easy and involves just one loaf at a time is you don’t feel like you’re risking a lot if your experimenting goes awry.
Try using different flours and/or different proportions of flour and play around with the water measurement a little.
I’ll be posting more videos and recipes on some of my favorite variations of this basic formula over the next few weeks.
I would love to hear from anyone with their experiences using this technique, both successful and otherwise. Please share your experiences below.
Note: Here are some great dough handling tips from Breadtopia reader Mark Liptak. Also, check out these no knead baking techniques by Margaret Ball.
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Hi, I’ve been using the no knead method for over a year with great success. I use either a cast iron pot or the la cloche. My question is with the Romertopf Clay Bread Pan, I can’t proof a sandwich loaf in that and put it in a 450deg oven, because of temp shock, correct? Normally with metal bread pans you would proof and bake in the same pan. So with the Romertopf Clay Bread Pan, how would you use it to bake a no knead sandwich loaf?
about crust being too hard… a friend of mine felt his bottom crust was too hard. here’s what he’s done to soften it a bit. He “left the lid on @500 for 10-15mins, then backed the oven down to 400 for 15-20mins then took the lid off for 10. I think this made for a lighter crust. The bottom crust can get a bit too thick for me and I think it is the high temp in the dutch oven that does that.”
I’ll be following this thread because I’ve been having problems with thick, hard crusts lately too.
Gina
Hi, just made my first loaf of No Knead Bread and it seems to have turned out really well except the crust is really really hard, should i reduce the baking time and take it out when the crust is a bit lighter? The bread inside is wonderful, but I had hoped be able to slice it a bit more easily. Any suggestions??
I came across this tip and tried it. It works!
” Leonard and private chef Paige Vandegrift, who also teaches classes at the Merc, are happy to share their top tips for home bakers.
Wash your hands in water. Leonard explains that rather than adding more flour to prevent the dough from sticking while kneading, keep a bowl of water handy and get your fingers wet while working the dough.”
If the dough begins to stick, wet you hands again and shake off the excess water.
Gean:
The first video on Breadtopia’s home page explains it all
First, you have to have a clean “canvas” to work on. Drawing up the sides of the dough ball and pinching it stretces the underside to a relatively smooth unblemished surface. The pinched side goes in the pot first.
At the start of the two hour resting with the smooth side up on the patchment paper, sprinkle some flour on it and oil spray the top, locking the flour in place.
Just before dropping it in the pan oil a sharp knife and make a few decorative cuts about 1/4″ deep. During baking the rising bread will stretch apart the cut.
I am new at bread baking and just love the no knead method. I would now like to have a fancier top to my loaves. What is the secret?
Gina, Thanks for your comment. I certainly will try that. I can see that I will have to adjust the temperature somewhat.
Hans, I used to have this problem and found that if I check the inside temperature with a thermometer and it hasn’t reached 210 degrees, it’s not cooked enough inside. I use a little chef’s thermometer and insert it as far as the center of the loaf. I’ve had to adjust my temperature and cooking time but now I longer get raw bread.
I recently ran into a snag making my variation on a multigrain knb. I used 10 oz ap flour, 1.5 oz rye, 1.5 oz dark spelt, 3oz flaxseed and oats ground up, 12 0z water, 1/4 tsp yeast, 1.5 tsp salt. I go thru all the steps, put it in a preheated 475 degree oven, covered clay pot, let it bake for 1/2 hour, take cover off and let it bake for another 15 min or until the temp is at least 200 degree. Turn oven off, let bread sit in oven for another 15 min after I remove it. But it is still kind of sticky inside. Sticks a little to my palate when I eat it. Very puzzled.
After making a ton of the lovely NK SD loaves I decided to try this yeast version. I bravely doubled it and they turned out to be my best breads EVER in my yeasted high hydration dutch oven line up!
The crust was thin & chewy, color was perfect. The crumb was soft, a little chewy and was open just enough to look fabulous and make the best toast & sandwiches.
This is a new go to recipe.
I’d like to recommend the Chantal Make & Take 3 1/2 covered round casserole for making no-knead bread. It’s perfect for proofing the dough, and also for baking it. The glazed clay casserole has a lid that has a silicone gasket, so it makes a tight seal, and you don’t have to use plastic wrap. The gasket is dishwasher safe and oven safe, but only up to 425°, so I use the lid without the gasket for the baking. The shape of the dish is perfect -round, flat on the bottom, with pretty straight sides – a lot like a dutch oven. It works great. I like it better than my dutch oven for baking the bread, and it’s certainly lighter. I love not using plastic wrap. And I love having one item with multiple uses.
I wish Chantal would make a deep rectangular dish like this for marinating. The have an 8″ x 8″ baker that’s a little too small and shallow for marinating. The round casserole will work for many things , but not everything.
JIM,many thanks for the web page
thanks ray
Ray:
I came across the detailed method of baking the bread mentioned in my January 5, 2010 note:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102124561
It is a copy of the recipe in her Kneadlessly Simple book. Her web site is also an interesting read.
I use a 10 hour first rise, 18 hours for the second rise(with the optional stirring), and 2 hours for the final rise. With the lid off I use a continuous read-out thermometer turning the oven off at 210F. I go for an extra 10 minutes before removing the pot just to ensure it is fully baked.
I am not a fan of a hard crust or large holes in the crumb so these are not a consideration for me. I would call the browing of the bread medium brown.
I had one miserable failure in about 10 tries. I do not know what I did wrong. . .
Once I have a fool-proof procedure I will individually experiment with the use of additives such as powdered milk, gluten, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. All this is absolutely unnecessary but it is fun to experiment.
Both Lahey’s and Cook’s methods taste great but Baggett’s tastes better to me. The no mess feature is just a bonus. I would go for the mess if it meant better taste.
Ray:
The actual recipe is copyrighed. Any complete recipe of hers on the net always notes that it is published with her permission. I never asked permission and I respect the copyright.
My brief, and very incomplete, explaination was meant to illustrate an impressive mess free NKB method and not to provide the recipe and procedure.
I suggest you visit a library or purchase the book.
*Click to enlarge
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