NY Times recipe from Nick Fox who states, “We thought we’d landed upon the simplest yeast bread recipe in 2007, when Mark Bittman wrote about the no-knead approach of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery. It quickly became (and remains) one of our most popular recipes because it made bakery-quality bread a real possibility for home cooks. But then we heard about Jeff Hertzberg, a physician from Minneapolis, who devised a streamlined technique for a crusty loaf of bread. Mix flour, salt, yeast and water. Let it sit a bit, refrigerate it, take some out and let it rise, then bake it. The crusty, full-flavored loaf that results may be the world’s easiest yeast bread.”
Simple Crusty Bread
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Simple Crusty Bread
February 23, 2019
Rob
- Total time: 4 Hours
- Servings: 1 Loaf
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Lukewarm Water (about 100°F)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Yeast
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
- 6 1/2 Cups Unbleached, all-Purpose Flour, more for dusting dough
- Cornmeal
Directions
- 1)
In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into water. Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
- 2)
Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
- 3)
Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450°F; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.
- 4)
Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
- 5)
Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450°F for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.