For anyone who hasn’t heard of the no-knead bread, basically the idea is that by using less yeast, making the dough wetter, and letting it rise for up to 24 hours, the yeast does the work regularly done by kneading, which is breaking down the gluten and reorganizing it to make a nice bread dough. There is tons of information online about this baking method, just google no-knead bread.  I can’t stress enough how easy it is to get great bread this way. It takes virtually no time and the bread tastes great! I have a no-knead baguette recipe that I want to try soon, so if it’s good there may be a recipe on here soon.

This is a reliable and easy no-knead recipe. It came from Mark Bittman’s book Food Matters (a great book if you haven’t read it) and I’ve been using it for at least 6 months with always great results; it seems to be foolproof.  You can make it full strength whole wheat, half white half wheat flour, or all white. Or you can mix in other flours, rice, chickpea, corn, etc. to make your own combination bread.  I recently bought a whole grain mixture from King Arthur Flour and added that in, so the loaf picture here is more grainy than if you use only regular flour.  I have also altered this recipe a little to make it high-altitude friendly, and those measurements are in parentheses below. But this recipe is pretty much the same for mountain or sea-level people, because it uses so little yeast. Really the big difference for us Denverites is the amount of water you need to get the dough to bind together.

Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat or white flour – if you are using other flours mentioned above, use 2 cups white or wheat, plus one cup of your other flour

1/2 tsp. instant yeast (high altitude: use a scant 1/2 tsp.)

2 tsp. salt

Optional:

grains, nuts, seeds

wheat gluten – adds lift and lightness to whole grain breads

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl, preferably glass (don’t use a metal bowl).  If you have wheat gluten, add 3 tablespoons.  If using whole grains, add 2/3 cup.  Then mix in 1.5 cups of water.  For high altitudes and dry climates, like Denver, I start with 1 and 3/4 cup water and then add more as necessary. Using added whole grains makes the dough need more water. Add water until the dough is gooey and sticky, but holds together and is not liquid.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm place – I use the top of my fridge. Then let it sit for 12 to 24 hours, until the dough’s surface is dotted with bubbles.

When the dough has risen, grease a loaf pan and transfer the dough to the pan and smooth it into the corners to form an even surface. cover with a towel and let rise another hour, or until doubled. Then bake at 350 (high altitude: 365)  for 55 (45) minutes or until deep golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.  If you have a thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 200. Immediately remove the bread from the pan onto a rack and let cool completely. (Bittman says to let it cool before slicing but I can never resist taking one slice while it is still hot, and eating it right away with butter!)