Crusty Bread

Hi Everyone!

Today I am going to share with you a recipe that a friend of mine recently directed me to, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!!!!  At first, it may sound like it is a lot of extra work, but once you make the recipe you will realize that it is really quite the opposite--easy, fun, healthy, and most important, yummy!

In a nutshell, this is what is called a "No-Knead" bread.  Kind of sort of similar to things like cornbread, except that with THIS bread recipe you are going to end up with a pretty awesome crust.  In fact, the name of the recipe is "Crusty Bread!"

So trust me on this one, and just TRY it--I'm sure you will love it as much as I do.  The only "tricky" part to making this bread is that you need to find something special to bake it in.  A cast iron dutch oven would be ideal, so if you have one then use it.  But if you are like me and are dutch-oven-less, then start thinking about what other things you have in your kitchen that you can use instead.  I ended up using the ceramic insert to my crock pot, and used my cast iron skillet on top of it for a lid.  I couldn't use my crock pot lid, because this is going to bake in the oven and I didn't want to melt the plastic handle on my crock pot lid.  I have also heard of people using a baking stone with a glass bowl inverted on top, and the friend who shared this recipe with me used an Anchor casserole dish/lid that she picked up at Walmart several years ago.  Anyway, start looking around your kitchen.  Below you can see my set-up.

Crusty Bread

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup white)

1 3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. yeast (If you are using whole wheat flour like me, increase this to 1 tsp.)

1 1/2 c. 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 pot and lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  DO NOT KNEAD!!!!  REMEMBER THIS IS A NO KNEAD BREAD.  Just shape it a bit and cover with plastic wrap and let set while the empty pot is heating.  Remove the hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  Cover and return to the 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.

Now, this is a great bread for adding in whatever "flavors" you like.  My first loaf pictured here I added in 1/2 c. dried chopped onions as well as a bunch of chopped up fresh Rosemary.  That loaf barely lasted the day.  I currently have another batter rising on the counter that I put Orange zest, slivered almonds, and dried cherries in.  Yum!  I can't wait to bake that one in the morning!  Use your imagination, stare at your cupboards, and see what inspiration comes to you.  And if you make a combination you really like, please share it with me here!  :)

Have fun!  And happy baking!

~Susan