One Hour No-Rise Rustic Bread Loaf*

By srumbel

The quickest, easiest way to create a rustic white loaf perfect to eat with butter and jam, or along side a pot of soup or stew. Done in under an hour and no yeast or rising required!
from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 –2 cups buttermilk

Details

Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 45mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Place flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and whisk together.
Make a well in the center and pour in most of the buttermilk, leaving about ¼ cup in the measuring cup. Using a fork, or one hand with your fingers outstretched like a claw, bring the flour and liquid together, adding more buttermilk, if necessary. Don’t knead the mixture, or it will become heavy. The dough should be soft, but not too wet and sticky.
When the dough comes together, turn it onto a floured work surface and bring it together a little more. Pat the dough into a round about 1½ inches thick and cut a deep cross in it. Place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to 400° and bake for 20-30 minutes more. When done, the loaf will sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and be golden in color. One way to check if your bread is done is to use a thermometer. Cook until temperature in center reaches 195-200 degrees.

Notes

I do prefer to use real buttermilk, but if you don't have any, you should be able to add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice to every 1 cup of milk to replace the buttermilk. Add the lemon juice to the milk (the higher the fat content the better) and then add it to the recipe. I've never tried this bread with the substitution, so if anyone tries it, let me know if it works okay!