A no knead bread recipe without special equipment, stand mixers or dough hooks. YES! If you’ve never made artisan bread before, you will LOVE this easy bread recipe. Bread lovers will appreciate the thick, chewy crust and soft open crumb, similar to Ciabatta and can be taken to the next level smothered with some of our easy garlic butter. Have warm, homemade bread from scratch on your table in less than 3 hours! Make it sweet by trying our Nutella stuffed French toast, enjoy it savoury in a caprese grilled cheese or simply lather it in some rich, salty butter. Nothing beats homemade bread fresh out of the oven, tearing it apart like our cheesy pull apart pizza bread, to the steamy scent of warm, cosy carbs. Dip crusty bread pieces into a hot bowl of chicken soup or chili for bread soaked in wholesome flavours or turn your freshly baked artisan bread into cheesy garlic bread.
HOW TO PREPARE BREAD AT HOME
All you need is: FLOUR: Bread flour results in a softer, fluffier bread because of the higher protein content. Regular all purpose or plain flour also works really well, only altering the texture slightly. If you’re substituting with wholewheat flour, use about ¼ cup less flour and add more as you go, if needed. SUGAR: Yeast feeds on sugar and starch, the perfect pairing for bread dough. The mix releases carbon dioxide gas, causing the bread to rise while baking. The bubbles push the dough up and out, creating a soft and spongy texture. YEAST: We have tried this recipe over the years with dried, instant and rapid-rise. We found the dried yeast did not need activating before mixing it through the dry ingredients. If hesitant, feel free to activate it first in warm water and oil for a couple of minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients.
WHAT MAKES ARTISAN BREAD SOFT AND PILLOWY?
OIL is what makes our bread even softer. You need this sneaky little addition to create a silky, soft crumb. WARM WATER: Not too hot or it will kill your yeast. 130°F or 55°C is the perfect temperature. You can also do the finger test: if you dip your finger in the water and it’s nice and warm, it’s perfect. If it burns, let it cool down until warm. Mix all of your ingredients together until you get a wet, sloppy mess.
RISE BABY!
Cover with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free warm place for about two hours. The dough will double in size; the surface will become dotted with bubbles. The texture will look like jelly and will feel super sticky. Keep going, you’re on the right track! SCRAPE OUT AND FOLD INWARDS Lightly flour your work surface and spatula with up to 1 tablespoon of flour. Scrape dough out of your bowl and onto your work surface, sprinkle with a little flour and fold inwards over itself about 5-6 times. Don’t use too much flour! You still want it quite sticky for moist, fluffy bread. SHAPE DOUGHTransfer dough onto a large piece of parchment paper and shape it into a rustic round shape with your spatula. You’re mainly doing this to get some of the air out of it! Carefully remove your hot pot using oven mitts. Then, grab the ends of your parchment paper to lift the dough into your pot.
BAKE
Don’t forget to put the lid back on. This creates steam to bake your bread in before the crust sets in. To get that golden, crunchy crust, remove the lid and bake for a further 12-15 minutes. You won’t believe how good it looks when it comes out of the oven. Cracks and all! Let it cool before cutting into it to let the centre of the bread finish cooking. Slather with butter and prepare to have your mind blown! If you love bread, this no knead dough recipe is truly life changing! You can then lather your beautiful bread in creamy butter or use it to put together a steak fajita grilled cheese, caprese garlic bread or some shrimp avocado garlic bread for lunch!
MORE BREAD RECIPES
Easy Soft Dinner Rolls (NO MIXER + EGG FREE)Easy Cheesy Garlic BreadSoft Cinnamon RollsHot Cross Buns … Read More
