No-Knead Country Bread

This delicious and gorgeous loaf is part recipe, part science experiment, and part fun family project when you’re all stuck in the house together looking for things to do. Even though it takes many, many hours, the texture you get is just incredible. Spread with butter and jam, if desired.

Step: 1

Place white bread flour, whole wheat bread flour, and yeast into a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in cold water and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until a very wet, sticky dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and mix another 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Cover with foil. Allow dough to rise at room temperature for 18 hours.

Step: 2

Deflate the bubbly dough with a spatula by scraping down the sides of the bowl and folding the dough over itself, turning the bowl as you go around in a circular motion, about 12 times or so.

Step: 3

Scrape the dough onto a very well-floured surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the surface of dough generously with flour. Generously flour hands and then roll and fold dough on the table until you’ve formed a round or oval loaf shape that has a smooth surface, 1 to 2 minutes. The dough is very sticky, so add more flour if you need. The shape doesn’t really matter, but a smooth surface is the goal.

Step: 4

Transfer to a Silpat®-lined baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, until doubled in size, about 2 hours. The dough will spread out more than rise up, but this is normal.

Step: 5

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Step: 6

Make 1 shallow slash down the middle of the dough with a very sharp knife or razor, being careful not to deflate the dough too much; the slash is optional. Spray the surface of the loaf very lightly with plain water to help the crust form.

Step: 7

Bake in the center of the preheated oven until nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack before cutting.

Per Serving: 143 calories; protein 4.9g; carbohydrates 28.9g; fat 0.8g; sodium 241.9mg.

The quality of the flour could make a real deal to your bread. Different brands do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a best rise than standard bread flours – especially if you’re making wholemeal bread , which not always rise as well as clear bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the menus to your breadmaker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be done in the fridge overnight . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great timesaver , as you can start it yesterday , then clear it off the next day.