No Knead Bread Baked in a Skillet
No-Knead Bread
Makes two small loaves*
This bread gets its great flavor from a long, slow overnight rise, using only a scant 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. If you use more yeast the dough will rise too quickly. Refrigerating the dough further improves the flavor and texture of the bread.
Volume | Weight in Ounces | Metric Measure |
1 cup all-purpose flour | 4.5 ounces | 128 grams |
1-3/4 cups bread flour | 7 ounces | 198 grams |
1/4 cup semolina flour | 2 ounces | 57 grams |
10 ounces warm water |
| 296 ml |
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast |
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1-1/4 teaspoon salt |
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Steps:
Mix the flours yeast and salt in large bowl, add the water and mix just until all the flour is wet and incorporated. It shouldn't take more than a minute, you don't want to overwork it. A silicone bowl scraper is very handy for bringing up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.
Smear a little olive oil on a piece of plastic wrap. Lay it directly on the dough.
Let rise for overnight. You can bake the dough now if you wish, see note below.*
Deflate dough by folding it over on itself with the bowl scraper. Divide into two equal portions and place in zip lock bags and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to several days. Dough will rise slightly again in the zip lock bag.
On baking day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to warm in the zip lock bag on the counter for 30 minutes.
After the dough has warmed for 30 minutes, place a baking stone in the oven, and preheat at 450º F for 30 minutes. The dough will have warmed for an hour by now.
Remove the dough from the zip lock bag and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Handle it gently so you don't deflate it too much.
Gently flatten it into an oval about ¾ of an inch thick (you can dust the top with flour if you want the artisan bread look).
Put the dough and parchment paper in a cold 12-inch cast iron skillet. Place a lid on it. Let the paper stick out from under the lid.
Place the skillet on the stone and bake covered for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown. The internal temperature should be 205-210° F.
*Notes: If baking immediately, place dough on parchment paper and then proceed to step 8. There is no need to warm the dough as it already is at room temperature. You may have to reduce the baking time a little. You can also bake one big loaf instead of two small ones. Adjust the baking time accordingly.