• Columnists

There’s no need to knead in this recipe for crusty bread

• Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
• August 2, 2019
• 1022

My friend was adamant about her method of making a crusty bread baked in cast iron: don’t knead the dough. It seemed completely counter-intuitive. You create a lovely bit of pliable dough by kneading it for a half hour, tucking, folding, turning, smashing — it’s very zen and satisfying.

Yet she kept telling me to just leave it alone: very little yeast, a lot of liquid and just barely get the stuff combined before covering it up and placing it somewhere out of the way to work itself out.

It was like telling a kid with a new cap gun and a whole red roll of caps not to shoot the thing.

I broke down every time. Once everything was mixed together, it was too hard to just leave it be. I’d pull it out of the mixer, give it at least 10 minutes of punishment and set it to rise. And the resulting loaves, baked in a cast iron Dutch oven, were good.

Finally I did it: plenty of liquid, not too much yeast, just bring it together in a bowl with a spoon and go on to something else. The resulting wet and shaggy mass slowly incorporated the liquid, smoothed itself out and grew bubbly. I let it go, covered, for almost 24 hours.

The first thing I realized was that this stuff was fermenting at a pretty good clip. Removing the plastic wrap and towel, the smell of yeast was fairly powerful, tart and aromatic. It reminded me of the smell of the initial stage of making whisky, a stage when “distiller’s beer” is made before it goes on to be the good stuff.

The dough was very wet and difficult to form into a loaf, so I added a tiny bit of flour from my hands. It rested and continued its burbling and rising while the oven and pot heated up to a clicking hot stage. It baked up beautifully with a crisp, craggy surface and chewy insides. It was much more flavorful than previous, kneaded, short-rise loaves I’d made.

I texted my friend my shame at not following her advice before.

To get a really tasty bread that’s just right for dipping in flavored oils or with cheese and salami or dipped into tomato sauce, this is your best bet.

You’ll need a heavy cast iron Dutch oven. It need not be enamel lined, but it helps. It must have a handle on the lid that will withstand high temperatures: check the manufacturer’s website to be sure.

NO KNEAD CRUSTY LOAF

3 cups high-quality, unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/3 cup water, warmer than your hand but not hot, about 110 F

Whisk together the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and mix together with a wooden spoon until it forms something that looks a bit like torn rags. There should be no visible liquid but don’t over mix.

Place the dough in a clean, unoiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, then lay over a kitchen towel to hold the wrap in place. Let rest at room temperature for at least 18 hours.

Remove the dough from the bowl by scooping the edges into the center and then turning it out onto floured parchment paper. With a little additional flour, form a round loaf. The dough will be quite wet so don’t fuss. Let rest while the oven heats.

Heat your oven to 475 F with a cast iron Dutch oven inside, lid on, for at least 30 minutes (start with the pan in a cold oven). When hot, remove the pan carefully from the oven. Gather the dough, parchment and all, and lower it into the pan. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 10-15 minutes. Remove the bread by lifting the paper and set on a rack to cool.