The best smell to wake up to, aside from cooked bacon and coffee, is fresh bread coming out of the oven. The problem is who the hell wants to get up at four in the morning so bread can be ready at eight. Well the solution is this overnight recipe that readied the night before and just needs to be popped into the oven while your coffee’s brewing. This artisan bread is easy to make, very moist and doesn’t need a mixer. Because it’s no knead, the bread uses a slow proofing method to activate the gluten. The texture is firm but airy, making a artisan bread. It’s also an excellent bread for sandwiches as it holds together well. You may be reluctant to let dough rise overnight, but the longer the proof the more mellow and mature the bread, also, the longer the bread stays fresh without mold.
Ingredients
- 455 g Bread flour ~3 cups
- 255 g Water – warm, ~1.5 cups
- 12 g Salt, ~ 2 tsp
- 2.5 g Yeast, ~0.75 tsp
Process
- Mise en Place – Measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Mix flour salt and yeast – put salt and yeast at opposite ends of bowl.
- Add water and stir or work with hands – or better yet, use a mixer on low speed (#1).
- The dough will be more sticky and moist than usual bread dough.
- Put dough in a bowl and cover with film. Let rise for 8 hours.
- Place dough on floured surface and gently shape into a ball.
- Flour coat the ball, put back in bowl and let rise 1 hour.
- 45 mins into the second proof, preheat oven to 450 F.
- Use olive oil to coat a medium cast iron Dutch oven. Put into the oven to heat.
- When oven reaches temperature, remove skillet and place dough inside.
- Using a shape knife or razor, cut an X into the top of the dough to let steam escape while baking.
- The X slice keeps air pockets from forming in your bread.
- Cover skillet to trap steam and bake for ~30 mins
- Remove cover and bake ~15 mins. Bread is done when the internal temp is 210 F, but don’t let the outer crust get to hard.
