almost no knead bread

Bread strikes again. I've been eating this for two days straight. Toast a slice. Little honey. Little butter. Best crust and super moist. probably because I accidentally tripled the beer. Which should go to show you that bread is forgiving. You can't screw it up. It will probably be different every time depending on how long and at what temperature it rose, but it will always taste good. Especially right out of the oven.

 

Best when baked in a dutch oven. Best way to get heat and steam needed for good rise and the perfect crust.

almost no-knead bread

makes one delicious loaf. from america’s test kitchen via pete

INGREDIENTS 

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 oz), plus additional for dusting work surface I used bread flour

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

1 1/2 tsp table salt

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water (7 ounces), at room temperature

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp mild-flavored lager (3 ounces) {I accidentally used 3/4 cup + 2 Tb! Used Shiner's Black Lager. The dough was crazy sticky and hard to manage but it turned out fine and was super moist. May never try it the right way...}

1 Tbsp white vinegar

DIRECTIONS

whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. add water, beer, and vinegar. using rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500F. lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). cover pot and place in oven. reduce oven temperature to 425F and bake covered for 30 minutes. remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

If you note that mine has a weird shape, it's because I did not have parchment paper so I used my Silpat mat. The sturdiness probably helped my gooey dough. Further proof that you can't mess it up. Try it!