No-Knead Yeast Bread

 No-Knead Dutch-Oven Bread

Karri Perry-Blue Ribbon Favorites 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp instant quick-rise yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups warm water (not hotter than 110 degrees)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Use a 4qt Dutch Oven with lid for best results.

Directions:

In a medium bowl measure the flour and add the salt.  Set aside.

Measure 1 1/2 cups warm water, add the instant yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 4 minutes-it should become bubbly and foamy.

Pour the warm yeast and sugar water into the bowl of flour and salt.

Gently stir together, creating a shaggy sticky dough. 

Stir just enough to incorporate all the dry flour—then stop.

Cover dough and let rise until doubled in size-usually about an hour.

Turn oven on to 400 degrees, placing the empty Dutch-oven with lid on the middle rack of the oven to heat up.

Once dough has doubled in sized, turn dough out onto a very well floured parchment paper.

Shape into a round ball.

Dust with flour, score bread and allow to sit for 20 minutes as oven heats up.

Carefully, with oven mitts, remove hot Dutch-oven from the oven, remove the lid, lift the parchment paper with the bread inside the hot Dutch oven. Add the lid.

Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on.

After 25 minutes, carefully remove the lid— and return the bread back to the oven for an additional 12-15 minutes-until loaf is puffed and golden brown.

Place bread on a cooling rack to cool for at least 1 hour before cutting. (Cutting warm bread can cause a gummy texture.)

Because this bread doesn’t contain any fats-it’s best served the same day that it is baked.

Leftover bread is great made into croutons or bread pudding or a breakfast casserole.

Save leftover bread in a closed brown paper bag.