I don’t know if you’ve ever made no-knead artisan bread before, but it really is simple, and quite good. One of the best books I have purchased is “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes” by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg. You can find a lot of helpful information as well as how to video’s at their website Bread in Five.
Jeff and Zoe have brought bread back to the masses. With a simple foolproof recipe. I had absolutely no experience making bread and this recipe works every time! I also had the pleasure of meeting both Zoe and Jeff at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco where they were handing out they’re a new book on Pizza.
]That being said, the next thing you need to know is all flours are not made equal. I use King Arthur’s flour at home for everything else, but it has a very high protein count (11.7), similar to bread flour (12.0). Now I can use it, but I will have to experiment to get the ratio correct.
Instead of going through extra work on the recipe just buy gold medal or Pillsbury flour which is closer to the 9.0 range.
As for yeast just buy the packets of regular yeast or if you are going to make bread on a regular basis buy the jar, it will be cheaper. Salt needs to be kosher, or Sea Salt, the flavor of the salt really isn’t going to come thru so any coarse salt will do (don’t use table salt). The last ingredient is simply warm water.
You will need a container to store your dough in to let it rise and to refrigerate it in. This dough can be made in either a Mixer with a dough attachment, or you can mix it by hand the old-fashioned way. I used a mixer with a dough attachment, which takes about five minutes.
I have made one adjustment to the recipe and it seems to have made the dough lighter and lets it rise more while proofing. I read somewhere that salt can kill yeast, and in the original recipe, you add the salt and yeast to the water and then add the flour.
I started adding just the yeast to the water and adding the salt to the flour, so it doesn’t hit the yeast at full strength. My results have been better.
You might also like these recipes:
- The Best Homemade Artisan Bread
- Pecan Caramel Cinnamon Rolls (no-knead)
- Apple Butter Sticky Bun Recipe
- Pan Dulce Recipe (no-knead)
No Knead Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Coarse Salt
- 1 /1/2 Tablespoons Yeast 2 packets
- 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Corn meal for dusting peal
- 1 tablespoon Flour to dust dough ball
Instructions
- Start with tap water at about 100 degrees (body temperature), make sure the water is not too hot it will kill the yeast. Colder water is ok it will just take longer to rise, if your letting it sit overnight it really doesn’t matter.
- add the yeast to the water and mix it up. Don’t worry if all the yeast does not dissolve, it will finish mixing in the flour.
- Mix the salt into the flour
- add the flour into the yeast water and start your mixer. (This is a wet dough.)
- Now place your dough into your container, and cover but not tightly and place on the counter for about 2 hours to rise. (If you don’t have time to wait let it sit out for about a half an hour or so, and put it in the refrigerator overnight, it will rise just more slowly.) The dough does need to sit in the refrigerator after the initial rise for at least 3 hours before using*
- Now that your dough has set up we are ready to form a dough ball. Pull off about a one-pound piece of dough (this recipe will make about 3 loaves this size). This is the only time you really handle the dough. You need to pull it down to form a ball, tucking all the ends in at the bottom. The ball should be semi-smooth.
- place the dough ball on a pizza peel or cookie sheet with a liberal amount of cornmeal under it so it will not stick.
- Let this dough rise for 40 minutes, and while it is rising let's preheat our oven and baking stone to 450 degrees for at least 20 minutes*
- Before sliding the dough off the peel, dust the top with flour and make some light slices into the dough for that artisan look.*
- before you slide it into the oven you need one more thing, in another baking dish, or the broiler tray, add two cups of water, the steam it creates will give the crust that nice crackle.
- Now slide of the dough closer the door and give it 30 minutes to start.
- The dough should have a dark color (probably darker than you think it should be), this is our rustic artisan bread.
- You may have to experiment a little to get it just right for your oven, but you won’t be far off the mark with this as your starting point, my oven took 35 minutes
Notes
*if you don’t have a bread stone you can bake this bread on a cookie sheet , you just won’t get the crusty hardened bottom to the loaf
*(You can form the dough into a longer loaf if you like, or make a bigger loaf, a bigger loaf may require a longer cooking time though)
Rose Ann Sales
Thanks for this savory bread stuffing recipe.. My family will surely love this .
Jacqlyn
So far I’ve made 6 loaves from 2 separate batches. . The first loaf was amazing. Looked great. However my dough balls run flat while waiting the 40 min before baking. The other 5 loaves have been flat and although they taste great they don’t have that beautiful look. Tips?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Jacqlyn
I always had a problem with the second rise. While the bread was delicious it never developed into the bread I wanted to be. I have since developed a folding method / partial knead for the second rise and it has given me much better results. You can try this technique with this bread or switch over to this recipe https://www.askchefdennis.com/homemade-artisan-bread-recipe/
Kate
So, what protein percentage is required in the flour for no knead bread. Thanks and Merry Christmas
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Kate, you can use any type of all purpose flour which is generally around the 10% protein percentage. King Arthur is high at 11.7% and can be used but the water will need to be adjusted. The recipe I shared is using standard all purpose flour, not King Arthur.
Jennifer
I just whipped up my first batch of dough from the Bread in 5 recipe on the Gold Medal flour bag, and came across your post while looking for baking hints. (Fingers crossed that mine turns out as lovely as yours.) One thing I noticed — your recipe calls for double the yeast (the Bread in 5 recipe calls for only 1 pkg. or 2 1/4 teaspoons). I wonder if the extra yeast is what caused you the problems you originally experienced? Or did you modify the amount based on your experience? Thanks!
alma
thanks for the no knead dough recipe. I think it will be great. i also hope your beautiful boy is healthy. he sure is beautiful. we are animals lovers and our dogs are our babies. have a good day.
alma
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks Alma. Beau is having a harder time getting up these days, but he’s still a happy boy, such a gentle sweet soul.
Nancy Baggett
Wish you would try the rustic no-knead whilte pot boule posted on my site. It’s from my book Kneadlessly Simple–so easy and really has excellent flavor and texture. The flavor is due a my using the retarded first fermentation method–meaning that I start off with ice cold water, which retards yeast growth at first and allows other flavor enhancing activities to occur. The yeast is NOT killed–you do have to use bread machine yeast, or fast-acting yeast–the regular yeast doesn’t work right.
Chef D
Thanks for the tip Nancy, I will check it out!
Emily @ Life on Food
Nothing is better than homemade bread.
Maggie @ kitchie coo
I am so relieved that your dog is okay. I was bracing for the worst while I read your story and I am glad it didn’t turn out that way. We have a really old dog, 13, and everyday I cherish the moments we have with her. Now, onto the bread! That bread is gorgeous and so simple! I love making bread but haven’t tried any of the 5-minute recipes. I will save this for future baking days.
Lacy
Ah I’ve had one of those weekends before! Of course I’m scared out of my mind so I keep bothering my poor little pup. Those walks always seem to fix everything. This bread looks awesome. I’ve been getting into making bread so I absolutely have to try this!
Sofie Dittmann @thegermanfoodie
First off, glad your dog is doing better. We just adopted a boxer mix from the pound, and he was WAY too thin as well, although fortunately didn’t appear to be that mistreated. He’s snoring next to me as I write this.
I have been making artisan bread for a few years now, and most loaves are a 2-day process, starter and all. I have had what you could call the “No-Knead Artisan Bread Bible” for a while now, and will finally try one out today, inspired by this post. You must have read my mind, I just got two clay bakers in, which should be perfect.
Thanks for sharing!
mike @ TheCulinaryLens
I have been playing around with a bread machine recently and have had people tell me a good no knead bread is the way to go. I have bookmarked this and can’t wait to try it. I like that this version does not use a dutch oven
Chef D
it really is a darn good loaf, and not adding in the salt with the yeast, seems to make all the difference in how it rises. I heard the dutch oven bread is really good too, I just can’t bring myself to ruin one of my good le cruset pots..lol
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee
i like how you explain about flour varies by brand and what really matters. very helpful.
torviewtoronto and createwithmom
I got this book too and I love making this bread so easy lovely post Chef Dennis
Elin
Beau is such a lovely and great dog. If you don’t tell his story I would not have known about his condition and thought he is another healthy dog…under your love and care, he is has grown up to be healthier and back to a normal happy dog. You and Lisa are such good foster ‘parents” to him. I am so touched by his story, and pray for a speedy recovery for him.
Your no knead bread looks good with those air pockets in them. I am going to try this bread!. Heard so much about this book and I think I will get the book soon :))) since you mentioned it is one of the best bread book 🙂 Chef, have a great week ahead and wish all of you have a peaceful and relax week .
Regards,
Elin
Mary Oxendine
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love to bake yeast bread and will try this. Thanks for sharing how to make the crust crackle – I never knew that.
Also thank you for sharing Beau! I am so happy that beautiful baby has a loving home. I hope he is well now! Mary