Last summer I got on a huge bread kick, and spent a month or so trying to find a good French bread recipe that I could make from home but that would taste like proper Artisan bread. After the utter failure of six different recipes, I gave up in disgust.

Well, no more! Last Tuesday our local propaganda wing.. errr… newspaper, The Oregonian, published the greatest Artisan bread recipe I’ve ever seen. Crunchy, flaky crust, soft and yummy guts. Ahhh, heaven. Plus you don’t have to knead it! I tried it last Wednesday and it came out so well that I’ve made seven more loaves since (gave away five of those).

I’ve made it so much this week that I actually know it by heart now. When I was at Hubby’s parents’ house the other day, I typed it up for his Mom and I thought you guys might like it too. I throw all the ingredients (all four of them) in a bowl in the evening and let it sit overnight. Then I make the bread the next day. Good luck!

NO-KNEAD ARTISAN BREAD

(recipe originally came from The Oregonian FoodDay, 3/13/07)

3 c. flour
2 ½ t. salt
¼ t. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 ½ c. plus 2T lukewarm water
Little bit of cornmeal

Bread pan requirements: Use a three to six quart covered casserole dish, round or oblong. A heavy dish works best (cast iron, Corningware stone, etc. Probably not glass. I use a white ceramic-plated stoneware casserole made by Corningware.). This creates an environment in your oven that is similar to a breadmaker’s steamy clay oven and gives your bread that super-yummy crust.

1. Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl and then add water and stir well. Dough will be wet and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm location (like 70 degrees-ish) for 12 to 18 hours. You’ll know dough is ready because it will bubble on top.
2. Dump dough onto a floured surface and fold over once or twice. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Shape into a ball (or oblong roll) and pinch seam. Don’t handle dough too much. Flour a cotton dishcloth (not terrycloth) and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough on cornmeal seam-side down and sprinkle top with cornmeal. Cover with cotton cloth and let rise 2 to 3 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. While oven is heating, put pan (without lid) in oven and let both pan and oven heat up for 30 minutes or so. Remove pan (it’s HOT so be careful), pick up cloth, and roll off cloth into pan seam-side up (it kind of goes ker-plop). If it’s uneven, just shake pan a bit and it will settle in. Dough will be wet. Put lid on pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more until bread is golden brown. Take bread out of pan and let it cool on a wire rack. Yum!

For variations, add whatever herbs/spices or things you want. If it doesn’t work or I forgot something pertinent in the recipe, just call or email me and we’ll figure it out. First things you should check are if you’re using the right kind of dish to bake it in and if you’re using instant yeast.

Rachel

P.S. This dough seems to be pretty sensitive to humidity, so for Portland I have lessened the water and salt (that’s for flavor) as follows:

3 c. flour
2 t. salt
¼ t. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 ½ c. lukewarm water

Try it a few times where you are and adjust as needed. If the dough is too wet, your bread will be flatter.

Written by Rachel Shubin ~ Fiendish friend for effusive fun!