24 Hour Bread

I love the smell of bread baking in the oven! And really - who doesn't? But I don't love all of the kneading, rising, kneading some more, and mess it creates in my kitchen. I swear, when I make bread from scratch there is flour from one end of my kitchen to the other. The solution? This recipe for 24 hour bread. While it does take a little advance planning (about 24 hours, if you hadn't already guessed that) the recipe involves no kneading and minimal cleanup but yields one gorgeous loaf of artisan bread. Soft and chewy on the inside, golden brown and crusty on the outside.

I've adapted this recipe from Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread recipe, published in the New York Times and available here.

24 Hour Bread

In a large bowl combine:
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c while flour
1 1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t instant yeast

Stir in 1 5/8 c water

The dough will be very wet and sticky.

Cover with bowl with plastic wrap and set aside. Allow the dough to rise 18 hours. (I typically make the dough the evening before I want to eat the bread.)

This is what the dough will look like after resting for 18 hours.  The top will be bubbly and smell very yeasty.

Turn the dough out onto a floured towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes. After the dough has rested, form it into a ball using minimal flour.

Dust the towel with cornmeal and lay the ball of dough seam side down, then dust the top with cornmeal. Allow the dough the rest 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

1 1/2 hours into the resting time, preheat your oven to 450 F.  Put your baking dish into the oven as it heats. The dish should be 6 - 8 quarts and have a lid.

When the dough is double its original size, turn it over seam side up into the preheated dish.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake 20 minutes - or until the top of the loaf is golden brown.

Remove the loaf from your baking dish carefully and cool on a wire rack.








Enjoy this bread warm with butter or as a side dish to a hearty soup or stew.  Like the beef stew that I'll show you tomorrow!  Until then, Joyful Eating!