Kiki's No Knead Bread
Simple Ingredients
3 ⅓ cups/430 grams all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran, as needed
Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin Olive oil for dipping
Villa Graziella Organic Tuscan Herb Seasoning Blend for dipping
Easy Directions
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons/390 milliliters water 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, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. The dough will be 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.
Using just enough flour to keep 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 ready, the dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least a half-hour before the dough is ready, heat oven to 450F˚.
Place a 6-to-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 pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. 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 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.
Cool on a rack, serve and enjoy!
Helpful Hints
To help dough rise in a drafty or colder home, turn the oven to 250-300˚F and place the bowl near the oven.
Dust a cast iron pot with cornmeal before placing the dough in it to prevent the bread from sticking.