Kick Ass Bread Recipe

June,

Don't add more flour. You are working too hard. This is easy. You need the "wetness" for the bread to cook. It steams itself.

Here is the recipe:

Alan’s Bread Recipe (New York Times Recipe)

3 cups of unbleached bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 5/8 cups water
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, and water in a large bowl. Stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let bowl rest at least 12 hours.

Then instead of putting it in a pan and raising it again........just put it on the counter with flour spread. Then fold it over 4 times. No more flour or kneading! Then pick it up. (It will be floppy and loose.) But just drop it into the hot (500F ) pan and put the lid on it. (The pan needs to be preheated and it takes about 1/2 or more to get the oven and pan that hot!) Cook for 1/2 hour and take the lid off and cook another 1/2 hour.

John Britt
a.k.a. Bread Boy

Comments

June Perry said…
Thanks John. This is a different recipe than the girl gives on the you tube video. Hers using sour dough starter and it was so wet,it wouldn't fold. It poured out like batter and spread out like a pancake, so I kept adding flour and folding, until it would at least hold a bit of shape. Of course it didn't rise much because, as soon as it held shape, I floured my hands and picked it up and put it in the pot. But we loved the crunchy crust and taste.
I'll try yours next and then try the sourdough version another time with more flour initially.
Gail Barnett said…
This is probably a really stupid question BUT.....Do you grease the cast iron pot?
June Perry said…
No need to grease. I wondered the same thing before I made it; but John told me that it didn't need greasing.
I have been making a great version of this bread for three years. Mine is a Rye Caraway variation. I have struggled with the perfect pot to bake it in until now. I made my own. I used a high iron cone 6 body, unglazed. I made the pot the perfect size for a 3C loaf. It goes in the oven cold for the preheat. Bakes 1/2 hour lid on at 500, 15 min lid off at 450. No need for grease, it pops right out of the pot.
I am in testing stage now...yum.
Judy's no knead Rye:
2C white flour
1C rye
1/2 t yeast
1 t salt
handful of caraway seed
1 1/2 c water
I just stumbled across this discussion and would love to try Alan's Bread Recipe. Does anybody know what happened to the salt? The directions above don't say anything about the salt AND it seems like a lot of salt. Thanks.