No Knead 4 Ingredient Overnight Bread Anyone Can Make

This is epiphany bread. Ya know the stuff? The bread that is such a simple idea but one that changes how bread is made in your house. I've been working on this for a while and I think it is time to finally share it here. It has been played with enough now.  It is white bread. Don't panic. It can be done with whole grain. You just need to increase the water to 1 1/2 cups in the recipe. It will depend on how dry your flour is, and may need up to 1 3/4 cup cool water for the whole wheat bread. My favorite organic ancient grain for this is whole grain Kamut...and it will need the full amount of water. I make this dough late in the evening before I go to bed and just leave the bucket in my kitchen overnight. It takes all of three minutes to combine all the ingredients and then it is ready to go.  Don't adjust the yeast. The beauty of the no-knead is that it takes a long slow fermentation time and that is what will develop a beautiful gluten structure in your bread. This slow ferment replaces mixing. It's crazy-cool! This recipe makes one loaf, so it is just right for smaller families or those just starting into bread making. It is a lot of fun! Oh...and really, it does't matter if you let it raise at night for 10 hours or during the day while you're gone to work. Let it fit into your schedule. 

NOTE: The temperature in your home will be a big factor in weather it will raise. Please allow an additional 2-3 hours if it is under 70 degrees at home. Winter months will be longer. Thank you!

My No Knead 4 Ingredient Overnight Bread

3 1/2 cups bread flour (measure exactly with a knife)

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp instant yeast (or 1/2 tsp active dry yeast)

1 1/4 cup water (under 110 degrees)

Directions:
Combine the ingredients in a 1 gallon food-grade bucket or a large 1 gallon bowl with a lid, just until everything is mixed and smooth. It takes about 20-30 turns by hand to get it all combined. Cover with a lid and keep covered 10-12 hours at room temperature until you're ready to bake bread. Once it has raised overnight you have two options. Form into bread (or rolls, cinnamon rolls, whatever) OR it can be kept in the fridge up to 7 days and warmed to room temperature to use for bread or pizza etc. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get it up to room temperature (70 degrees). 

Form into a loaf  (see detailed tutorial here) and place on a lightly oiled baking stone or in an 8 inch loaf pan that has been greased. Allow to raise in a warm room until doubled, about 2 hours. Bake at 375 degrees 35-40 minutes (meat thermometer will register 165 degrees or more).  Enjoy!

There you go! Enjoy a simple new way to make bread! For  my gluten free bread that is quick and whole grain delicious...go here. It is just as quick and gets rave reviews! My other favorite no knead bread is Lisa's No Knead White Chocolate Pecan Bread. It is to die for. 

END Note: A few factors on the overnight no-knead bread that can have an affect on the lightness of the bread would be:

Temperature: raising the bread during the winter months will take up to an hour longer for the second raise in the pan because our houses are cooler now. If you're like me, we keep it around 70 during the winter and a good ten degrees colder inside will make a difference in how fast it raises....exponentially. Solution would be to turn on the oven to "warm". Place the dough that is in the loaf (ready to bake) in the oven, covering it with a mist of water. TURN OFF THE OVEN. It should raise in an oven around 100 degrees or less so don't leave it on! Once it has risen, pull the loaf out of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 and then proceed to bake. 

Loaf formation: The molding technique Chef Tess Bakeresse: Sandwhich Loaf Molding and baking is a factor in how well the loaf will raise because it is optimal in trapping the air produced by the yeast. The more air that is trapped inside the loaf, the lighter the final loaf will be.

Freshness of the yeast and type of yeast: It is always a good idea to check the freshness of the yeast as well. If you are using the regular active dry yeast, 1/2 tsp is the correct measure but if it is older, it will take more (up to 1 tsp). One may add up to 1/4 cup of sugar or honey to the recipe to help get the yeast active if there is still a problem (especially during the winter months).
Type and mill of Flour: Finer milled Higher protein white wheat bread flour, Kamut flour or Hard Red wheat flours are the best for this recipe. They have a stronger amount of protein and will always yield a higher loaf. The finer ground the flour, the better the gluten development will be. Large pieces of fiber in the flour will cut the strands of gluten, and shorter strands of gluten will not connect well enough to hold air in the loaf. 

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess