Directions: |
Directions:1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, -5/8 of a cup is 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with finger.
4. At least a 1/2 hour before dough is ready, heat oven at 450 degrees. Put a 5-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into the pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess but that is okay. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on rack.
I find that a cast iron dutch oven makes a nice round plump loaf. Like real ciabatta bread.
Yield: 1 1/2 pound loaf |
This recipe for No-Knead Bread is from