I’ve been wanted to make bread at home but too intimidated by how it is made. Blooming the yeast, mixing, kneading, resting, kneading and so on. Specially the kneading part. I’m too lazy to do this shoulder-pain-making-step.
This week, while reading the yahoo news in our office (Don’t get me wrong. I’m working. It just so happened that its still an hour before work starts. I’m getting too defensive.), I read an article about artisan bread in minutes. I clicked the link and found this recipe of No Knead Bread. There’s no kneading in this recipe, which makes me happy because I will not work my arms to make this recipe.
By reading the recipe, this will produce a bread of hard crispy shell with the inside being soft, the way I like my bread. Another plus for this recipe is its simplicity. This recipe has few ingredients and are easy to find in the grocery stores. I just tweaked the recipe because I’m using Instant Dry Yeast and added some chopped parsley. Also, since this is a trial, my recipe is a third of the original.
I planned to bake this no knead bread recipe on Sunday morning for Mothers Day. I set my alarm at 3:00 in the morning to prepare for the recipe. However, like anyone else, the clock alarmed, I stood up and switch it off and went back to bed. I was too sleepy and decided to bake it that afternoon.
Ingredients
250 grams Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Instant Dry Yeast
1/4 cup Chopped Parsley
1 cup Water
Extra flour for dusting
Olive Oil
Procedure
1. Mix all dry ingredients until well incorporated.
2. Add water. You can use a fork or your hands to mix the dough. When using your hands, be sure to dust your hands with flour. (The dough is very sticky. I have to flour my hands from time to time to avoid the dough from sticking.) When everything is well mixed, liberally sprinkle flour and leave in a warm spot for 2 hours.
3. After 2 hours, the dough will rise and the its volume will double. Again, dust it with flour and also dust your hand with flour. I gently punch the dough and turn it in a ball. I transfer it in a smaller bowl, dusted with flour. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours. (This will rest the dough and it will also be easy to manage the dough when its cold.)
4. Remove from the bowl and liberally dust it with flour. Score the top using a sharp knife. Drizzle some olive oil and place on a parchment paper dusted with flour. Pop in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. The shell should be nicely golden brown, hard and when you tap it, you should hear as if the inside of the bread is hollow.
