Friday, July 23, 2021

Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe


Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe

I am a gluten free gal with a gluten loving husband, who needs a homemade loaf of bread once in a while. Carefully stirring the ingredients vs. kneading and tossing flour helps keep my kitchen as gluten free as possible, and still delivers the goods. And remember, there are hundreds of simple bread recipes out there if this isn't just what you're looking for, but it's a good place to start. Experiment! 

Note bene: Baking gluten free has taught me the importance of weighing the ingredients when I bake. It can make a big difference in the amount of flour, and baking is science more than art. Use a digital kitchen scale if possible to measure your flour.

Also, I hate to use a lot of dishes, plastic wrap, etc. so I mix this in a Corning Ware casserole dish with a glass lid. It serves the purpose of covering the dish as it rises overnight, and still allows me to see it.

455 grams bread flour (or 3 ½ cups)
1 pkg instant yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups warm water
2-4 Tbsp cornmeal

Combine dry ingredients, and mix well. I use a fork.

Your water should be lukewarm, but not hot or you'll kill your yeast. (Lukewarm is just warm enough that you can tell it's warmer than your body temperature. I test taste from a cup as it as it comes out of the tap, and adjust. I really think we can tell temperature more accurately with our mouths than our wrists. Don't overthink this.) 

*I had a question about substituting regular yeast for rapid rising yeast. Yes, you can! See the comments below for details. 

Add the water around the dish, and mix with a large spoon. This doesn't take more than a minute or two, and the dough will start coming together in a ball. Scrap around the dish with the spoon or spatula so all the dough is in the ball, and put on the glass cover. Let the dough sit undisturbed overnight.

I make my dough while cooking dinner at night, and then the casserole dish sits on my kitchen table. Our home stays around 74-75 F during the summer. That's a good environment for rising dough. If I need bread dough to rise in the winter, its a little bit different as our house is cooler. Then I put my dish in an insulated cooler with a towel I've wet with very hot water, and keep the lid closed to maintain the warmth.


The next morning, or sometime before noon, I turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper I've liberally sprinkled with cornmeal. I sprinkle the top of the ball with more cornmeal, and give it a little flip to turn the outside in while pulling the dough around it. The fold will be on the bottom, and positioned on the parchment. Lift the parchment up by the edges, and put into your baking dish. 

*No parchment paper? No problem. Just oil or grease whatever baking dish you use. I use parchment to control contaminating kitchen surfaces and dishes with gluten.


I use an enamel cast iron pot (Dutch oven) with the lid on, but you could use the same casserole dish if it's the deep variety (4" or so) Let it rest 45 min. to 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid, and bake another 5-10 to brown the top crust. Remove from oven, and remove loaf from pan by lifting parchment paper edges. Allow to cool completely before slicing. 



The Doxie girls love this toasted.
Enjoy!


 

5 comments:

Linda Swanekamp said...

I just love bread- but I don't eat it anymore. I think eating a fresh loaf of bread with butter is just heavenly. I tried making gluten free bread for my husband, well, not good edible results. The GF breads have too much starch in them. Now, I am trying keto type breads and I can get ok bread that my husband likes, but it is not like you showed. The recipe looks easy and tasty.

Angie in SoCal said...

Reads delish! I'll try it although my house is not a gluten free home. Mostly I use the no knead breads here: https://www.jennycancook.com/recipe/no-knead-breads/

Beth said...

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I've been intending to try no-knead bread making, but have put it off. Now I think I'll give it a go. I do have one question: how much yeast is in a package? I have a big amount of yeast, having purchased a larger package a couple of months ago when I was filled with enthusiasm. :)

Julie said...

Beth,
You will be shocked how easy this is after you try it. On top of that, my husband was over the moon since it's nearly identical to the bread he chooses from the Target bakery whenever we find one. It gives new meaning to that $4-5 artisan loaf when you know how easy and cheap it is!!

With a package of Aldi's Baker's Corner Active Dry Yeast in front of me, I'll try to help you.

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS
Dissolve yeast in warm water (100 degrees F) for 10 minutes before mixing with other ingredients. If added directly to the dry ingredients (not dissolved) add liquids warmed to 120-130 degrees F.

1 pkg active dry yeast (¼ oz.)= 1 pkg fast rising yeast ( ¼ oz.)=1 cake fresh yeast (.6 ounce)
1 pkg of active dry yeast measures about 2 ¼ teaspoons

Barb N said...

This sounds great to make when the temperatures cool down and I can use my oven again. Thanks!