Almost No-Knead Bread
By Hklbrries
From “The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook,” America’s Test Kitchen
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This is a tweaked version of the original recipe, with embellishments that the authors say add flavor and keep the dough from deflating when dropped into the pot. It also has a lower ratio of liquid to flour, which is why they add a brief one-minute knead. Note that it also makes a smaller loaf than the original recipe – 3 cups of flour versus 4 cups.
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Ingredients
- 3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons mild-flavored lager beer, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl. Add water, beer and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, 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 18-by-12-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with vegetable oil spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into the middle. Transfer loaf, seam-side down, to prepared skillet and spray surface of dough with oil spray. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about two hours. (Dough should barely spring back when poked with a knuckle.)
Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position. Place Dutch oven (with lid), on rack and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using sharp serrated knife or single-edged razor blade, make one six-inch long, 1/2 inch deep slash along top of dough.
Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up loaf 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 425 degrees and bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown and loaf registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer.
Carefully remove loaf from pot; transfer to wire rack, discard parchment and let cool to room temperature, about two hours, before slicing and serving.