Easy, Crusty Artisan No Knead Bread!! #bread #bestbread #kitchentips

‪@In_The_Kitchen_With_Mara‬ Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour or 180g 1 ½ cups Bread Flour or 180g - You absolutely can use all purpose flour. I’ve made it both ways and it’s great either way. I think the bread flour just puts it over the top a little bit because bread flour has a little higher protein than all purpose. What that does is it produces stronger gluten, which helps with the rise and I think gives the bread a slightly better texture. 1 ¾ tsp salt ½ tsp active dry yeast (not quick rise or instant) 1 ½ cups room temp water So the key to this bread is the long slow rise. That’s how we get away with not kneading the bread. The slow rise time allows enough gluten to build up for a wonderful final product. Also, as a rule the longer the rise the more complex and wonderful the flavor of the bread. So it is absolutely essential to use room temp water NOT warm water, that will speed up the rise, also the same thing for active dry yeast and not instant yeast. First mix flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well mixed. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in your unheated oven (or another safe place) for 12 to 18 hours. I always make this the night before I want to bake it!. I like to line the bottom of my pot with parchment paper. This is not strictly necessary but it protects my pan a little and helps keep the bread from browning too much on the bottom. Cut out the paper so it fits inside your pot but don’t put it in just yet, set aside for later. Place your cast iron pot into the oven then preheat the oven to 450 degrees. We want the pot to be hot when we put the dough in it and this will allow it to heat slowly with the oven. My cast iron pot can withstand these temperatures but my lid cannot. You’ll want to check on yours to make sure. If you can use your lid all the better but I use heavy duty aluminum foil to cover instead. If you don’t have a dutch oven any pot that is large enough and can withstand 450 should work fine. Once your oven has heated, take your pot out of the oven. Then carefully place your parchment paper on the bottom of the pot. Next sprinkle a little flour on the parchment. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough as well. Gently move your hands along the inside edge of the bowl to loosen the dough from the bowl. You can see that it is quite stuck to the bowl. Now gently form the dough into a ball and place it in your pot. Immediately cover with foil and place into your oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes. Ok so here's the reason we cover the bread. If you’ve read other bread recipes you’ll often see that they tell you to put a pan of water in the oven with the bread while it bakes. And as crazy as it sounds, the moisture in the oven is what gives bread its beautiful crust! So by covering our nice moist dough steam is released as it cooks and is trapped creating the perfect environment! So simple, so brilliant! Now we are going to remove the cover or lid and finish baking for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Carefully remove the bread from the pot and place on a cooling rack until cool. Enjoy!!