No Knead Crusty Bread

I am generally not a fan of no-knead bread, but this one is pretty good and is easy. More complicated bread recipes, if done correctly, are always better.

This recipe just needs the standard ingredients: water, yeast, salt and flour. It seems that the majority of bread, require just those four ingredients.

Crusty Bread

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• Pour the water, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
• With a heavy spoon or danish wisk, blend the ingredients together.
• Stir in the flour, 2 cups at a time until it is thoroughly mixed.
• Cover the bowl with a cloth towel and let rise for two to three hours, until doubled.
• Cut the dough in half.
• Take each piece and work it with your hands to shape it in a loaf shape, making sure the outside is smooth.
• Place it on parchment paper, large enough to give it space to raise again.
• Do the same with the other piece of dough.
• With a sharp knife or baker's lame, cut three diagonal slices, shallowly, in the top of each loaf.
• Cover, and let rise for 45 minutes.
• Place the baking stone on a rack in the middle of the oven. Place a pan of water in the bottom rack.
• Preheat the oven to 450 F.
• Make sure that the stone heats an additional 20 minutes after your oven reaches 450 F
• Keeping the parchment paper on the dough, place one loaf on the baking stone. A pizza peel is perfect for this, if you don't have one be careful!
• Place a few ice cubes in the water on the bottom rack. Slowly close the oven door.
• Bake for 25 minutes, give or take a few minutes, until the crust is brown.
• Remove the bread and place it on a rack to cool.
• Let the oven sit for 5-10 minutes and repeat with the second loaf.
• If desired, melt a little butter and spread it on the crust with a pasty brush.

If you don’t have a baking stone, cast iron or pyrex is an okay substitute. If you have neither, a pan made for pizza, or just a flat baking pan will be alright. A steel cooking slab is the best, better than stone, but they are very expensive.

If you use a stone, make sure that you put it in a cool oven. Placing it in a hot oven may make it crack.

The parchment paper I get says that it is safe up to 425 F. I don’t have issue at 450 F if it is not for a long time. The edges will brown a little. Flouring the pizza peel and placing the dough directly on the stone is also okay but will probably warp the loaf a tad.