Scrap 'N Chat

Crusty (No Knead) Bread

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.  Overnight works great.  Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.  Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. 

You can add to this bread any combination of items to make it more of a artisinal bread:

Cranberry almond Orange bread add ¾ cup dried cranberries, zest from one orange and ½ cup of sliced slivered almonds.

Lemon Rosemary Gruyere Bread – zest from one lemon, some rosemary to taste and a cup of shredded gruyere.

Make up your own combinations, it’s better that way.

It is Peggy ... LOL.  I did finally get a fresh bottle of yeast and my daughter and I put together two batches of this dough this morning.  Tomorrow morning we can bake them off.  I did a plain bread, and my daughter did a bread with some spinach and herb blend from Tastefully simple in hers and a cup of Italian Sharp and Cheddar Mix ... it should be yummy.  Crossing my fingers as this is our first venture into yeast ... but from the reviews I read, you can't fail with this one.  No kneading ... just mix, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise, then bake.  I'll keep ya all posted.

Huh...who knew.  I don't have a cast iron thingy though.

Hmmm Janet, I have one it's not a Le Cruset like the writer of the original recipe had, but mine is a coated cast iron dutch oven from the Martha Stewart line, it was a gift, but they aren't terribly expensive, if this works out well, I may buy a 2nd one so I can bake off two breads at once.  I have a recipe for olive oil pizza dough as well which doesn't require a cast iron pan, just a stone for baking pizza, I have two of those as well from pampered chef.

that sounds yummy!!!

Now I want bread! haha.. I e-mailed it to myself! Sounds yummmmylicious!

I love making bread it reminds me of my grandmother I will try this one