- In a bowl, stir together with a spatula the flour, the yeast and the salt.
- Add the warm water (be careful, the water should feel warm enough and not hot).
- Keep stirring together with the spatula until all of the flour is moistened. The dough should be shaggy and sticky. Do not knead the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at warm room temperature for 3 hours.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper in one clay pot or in a bowl about the same size with your Dutch oven depending on what you are using.
- With the help of a spatula transfer the dough on a well floured surface. The dough is quite bubbly on the top and it is soft. Flour your hands as well as the dough and with a scrapper fold the dough over 2-3 times (maximum 10 times if the dough is too sticky) softly with no added pressure. Place the ball of dough onto the parchment paper again, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 30'.
- Preheat the oven to 230°C or 450F. Place two single clay pots or the Dutch oven in the oven and preheat.
- The oven's temperature must be at 230°C or 450F. It takes about 20' (but it depends on the oven). Be very careful and do not forget to wear gloves because the oven and the clay pots or the Dutch oven will be very hot. Take the pots or the Dutch oven out of the oven. Put the dough, that must have puffed up a little, with the parchment paper inside and if you are using a Dutch oven just put the lid back on. If you are using separate clay pots, lift the dough with the parchment paper inside one pot and add the other on top just like a lid. Put the pot in the oven.
- Bake for 30'. Remove the lid and continue to bake for an additional 15'-20', or until a deep golden brown.
You may need 1-2 extra tablespoons of water depending on the flour. Whole wheat flour absorbs more water and is a better choice than white flour, which may need 2-3 tablespoons less water.
Choose a pot or a Dutch oven with oven safe handles.
Your pot should have enough space because the bread will puff up about 1cm or 1/2inch.
This recipe is for 1 small bread 12x8cm approximately.
Always be careful and use oven gloves when baking.
You work with the dough for a few minutes, the rest of the time you just wait. You need to let the dough rest for 3 hours and you bake the bread for about 50'.
If the water you used was cold instead of warm, it may need more time to puff up.
You can let the dough rest for more than 3 hours if you want.
If you wish your bread to be more crusty, more golden brown, let it bake for 5-10 more minutes.
You can make this bread with the flour of your choice or even with all purpose flour and you can add whatever you like to your bread: olive oil, your favorite nuts. I took photos of several kinds of breads I made, white, whole wheat, with nuts and seeds.
This No Knead Bread recipe will work because this recipe is extremely forgiving!