No Knead Bread

Can you smell the bread through your computer screen?  I'm wafting the scent your way.  It's magnificent.

This bread made be no-knead but I do need.  Ba-zing!

Remember when I resolved to make more bread in 2013?  Welp, I did it.  Boy did I do it.  I faced my fears with a defiant fist in the air and I dominated this bread.

I think it's because carbs just call to me.  I'm meant to coexist with carbs.  It's the cross that I bear.

What immediately drew me to this recipe was the "no-knead" aspect.  Being that yeast is finicky and proper kneading can sometimes make or break a loaf of bread, I was looking for a shortcut wherever I could get one.  At first, I thought maybe I was taking the easy way out.  I wanted to tackle bread so was this recipe a cop out?  

But then I thought, "No, I am a genius and this bread is amazing."  It was like sick torture waiting for the loaf to cool before slicing.  Actually, I almost skipped the knife entirely and just sunk my teeth in like a rabid animal.  Almost.  

I did what any sane person would do with bread fresh outta the oven.  I dunked it in warm marinara sauce for lunch.  And dinner.  And snack.  And second dinner.  And oh my god I ate a whole loaf of bread.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients: 
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
extra flour (for dusting)

Instructions: 

1.  In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, and yeast.  Add water and mix to combine ingredients, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  The dough may seem too dry at first but it should come together as a sticky, shaggy ball.  

2.  Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise 12-18 hours (yes, hours).  I put my bowl in an OFF oven overnight for a draft-free, warm place.  

3.  Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place an empty dutch oven (or large oven-safe pot and lid) in the oven to preheat.  **see note below

4.  While the oven and pot preheat, turn the dough onto a heavily floured surface (the dough will be sticky) and shape it into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough sit for 30 mins while the oven preheats.  

5.  Carefully remove the pot from the oven and place the ball in the pot, seam side down.  Place the lid on the pot and return to oven.  Bake for 30-35 or until loaf is well browned and crusty.  Cool completely before slicing.  

Enjoy!  

Notes:  

**I don't own a dutch oven or a pot that's oven safe to 450 degrees.  Instead, I used a Pyrex pie dish and an upturned steel bowl as a "lid."  Improvise if you have to but it's important to have a lid to allow the loaf to steam while baking.  

Recipe from Simply So Good.