Baking

Easiest Bread Recipe Ever!

May 13, 2020 /

I don’t know about you, but I love a good crusty bread….especially warm smothered in butter or dipped in balsamic and olive oil. My husband and I argue about the what type of bread to get (he always gets the sesame loaf that’s 4 feet long!) Somewhat of an exaggeration but what I want is a nice rustic loaf with a crust that I don’t have to cut in half to put into the oven! I have been searching for bread recipes and even went so far as to buy my father-in-law a bread making cook book for Christmas (to send his finished product my way of course..hey he’s somewhat retired I thought this would be a good project for him!) Needless to say I haven’t received any bread from him and the recipes that I have searched scare the heck out of me…proofing, punching, benching, fermentation, DDT,  and the list could go on! I wasn’t sure if I was ready to get my butt kicked from a medial bread course, so I did what anyone else would do….continued to purchased my bread from the grocery store. I have had some time on my hands as of late as I’m sure a lot of you have as well, and with time comes some courage and I would go so far as to say competitiveness…this new disposition has come into play with some books I’m reading such as “Punch Fear in the Face” by Jon Acuff and “Do it Scared” by Ruth Soukup now these books I’m sure are intended for the entrepreneurs and business leaders but I felt like maybe I need to punch bread making in the face, even if I’m scared!!  So this is what I did, found a bunch of recipes touting 4 ingredients and No Knead tag lines, I was intrigued so I gave it the Ol’ college try. IT TURNED OUT AMAZING AND I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO STORE BOUGHT BREAD AGAIN!!!!! It is somewhat of a sin how easy this recipe is….so without further ado lets get baking!!

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour + 2-3 tablespoons of flour for shaping
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of active dry or quick rise yeast (I used Red Star rapid rise yeast)
  • 1 1/2 cup of luke warm water

Directions:

  1. Combine 3 cups of flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl mix well. Stir in water until it’s well combined with a wooden spoon. The dough will look shaggy and sticky to the touch
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 6-8 hours depending on your room temperature or doubled in size.
  3.  Transfer it to a well-floured surface and sprinkle dough with a little flour. Using the palm of your hands fold dough over 10-12 times & shape into a rough ball. You may need to add more flour to your surface as you don’t want the bread to stick.
  4. Let stand on floured surface for about 30 minutes covered loosely with plastic wrap.
  5. Meanwhile place Dutch oven with lid on in a cold oven and preheat to 450° F for 30 minutes
  6. After Dutch Oven has been in the oven for 30 minutes take out of oven and take lid off. Carefully place dough gently into the hot pot.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
  7. After 30 minutes, remove lid and continue to cook for 10 minutes longer to get a nice brown color.  Let it cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Don’t grease the Dutch Oven, trust me the bread won’t stick…it’ll slide right out.

Enjoy,

XOXOXOXO Jessi