No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
Twelve hours of time replace ten minutes of kneading, and the Dutch oven replaces the steam oven.
- Preparation
- 10 min
- Cook/bake time
- 45 min
- Total
- 14 hr 25 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
Twelve hours of time replace ten minutes of kneading, and the Dutch oven replaces the steam oven. Four ingredients, five minutes of work, a loaf with a crackling crust and an open crumb. The easiest serious bread recipe there is.
Why this works
Kneading aligns gluten strands, but time does that too, all on its own. In a very wet dough, the protein molecules are mobile enough to arrange themselves into a network over twelve hours; this is called autolysis. That is why the 75 percent hydration here is not showing off, but the condition for the recipe to work without kneading. The Dutch oven solves the second problem: A crackling crust needs steam in the first few minutes, because a moist surface remains stretchable longer and the bread can continue to rise. A domestic oven does not hold steam, but a closed cast-iron pot does, because the water from the dough itself evaporates and stays inside. Take the lid off as soon as the shape is set, and the crust browns dry.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Mix, do not knead
Mix the flour, salt and yeast dry and pour in the water. Stir with a spoon until no more dry flour is visible. This takes less than two minutes and the dough looks unfinished and sticky. That is exactly how it should be.
- 2
Let rise for twelve hours
Cover the bowl and let the dough stand at room temperature for twelve hours. It should double in size and be covered with bubbles on the surface. During this time, the gluten network arranges itself, which is the work you save yourself.
- 3
Fold and shape
Tip the dough onto a well-floured surface and fold it four times from the outside to the middle, without kneading. Turn it over so that the seam is at the bottom, and pull it into a tight ball with your hands. It is very soft, so work quickly and with plenty of flour on your hands.
- 4
One and a half hours proofing
Place the ball seam-side up in a floured cloth in a bowl and let it rise for ninety minutes. Preheat the oven to 240 °C in the last half hour with the empty pot and lid. The pot must heat through properly.
- 5
Bake: 30 minutes with lid, 15 without
Carefully tip the dough into the hot pot, score it deeply once and cover it. Bake for thirty minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for another fifteen minutes until the crust is deep golden brown. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before you cut it. If cut hot, the crumb will be gummy.
