No-Knead Bread

Last month, Mark Bittman wrote an article in the New York Times about how to make bread at home. The recipe came from Jim Lahey at Sullivan Street Bakery, and the results are incredible - both the looks and taste. I've baked seven loaves so far, and all but one were as good or better than any bread I've ever had.

There are four things that make this recipe different from others:

• Very little yeast is used
• You don't knead the dough
• You let it proof for at least 18 hours
• You bake it in a preheated pot with the lid on

I've passed the recipe on to several people who are also getting excellent results. I've added chopped calamata olives to one loaf, serrano ham and piave cheese to another. I took each of those to a different Christmas party. People flipped out. It's hard to believe that it didn't come out of a professional bakery.

The base recipe is this:

• 430 grams (3 cups) of Flour
• 335 ml (1 5/8 cups) of Water
• 1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) of Instant Yeast
• 8 grams (1 tablespoon) of Salt

See the article for detailed instructions...

I've had the best results using King Arthur unbleached bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein and gluten content, which is essential for bread. Flours with over 12% protein content are preferred for bread making. I've also added as much as 100 grams of whole wheat flour and 40 grams of buckwheat flour. Both turned out great.

I've also had some failures recently. A few of my loaves turned out small and dense. The dough looked fine after 18 hours, but when I shaped it and waited for the second rise, it didn't rise as much as usual. I think maybe the yeast I had wasn't great, but I also realized later that I was putting in 10 grams less water than I was supposed to. I've since redeemed myself.

There's no reason not to make bread at home anymore. It's as good as the bakeries, and each loaf costs about one dollar to make. Do it.