The Best Bread Recipe

Alright, so maybe there's a bread recipe out there that calls for nutella and crack.

Probably that is the best bread recipe.

But this one is no slouch.
It has a hearty crust and soft texture.

It takes a few minutes to pull together and about 18 hours to rise.
It bakes in a pre-heated, heavy, lidded pot.

It smells like beer.
It's no-knead.

Not much is needed for this bread: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, and warm water.

I made a whole wheat bread, but all-purpose flour will work just as well.

If you do use all-purpose flour, you can reduce the yeast amount by half.

To start, add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and let sit for five minutes.

Meantime, whisk together the flours and salt.  Make a well in the middle.
Once your yeast is proofed (and bubbly) add to your flour mixture.
Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

This took some hand-mixing to to full incorporate the dry and liquid ingredients.

Leave the dough in the bowl and loosely cover with greased plastic wrap.

Set it in a warm place (about 70 degrees) to rise for at least 12 hours, but ideally for 18 hours or more.

This dough rose for about 20 hours.

When the dough's surface looks like an English muffin, it's ready for the next step.

Lightly flour a board and turn the dough out of the bowl.

The dough will be sticky so you're well-advised to flour your hands, too.

Fold the dough and loosely cover with plastic wrap.

Let rest for 15 minutes.

Generously flour a cotton towel.

Don't use terry cloth.  It can only lead to heartache.

As quickly as you can, shape the dough into a ball and place on the floured towel.

Generously flour the top of your dough and fold the towel over so the dough is covered.

Like so...

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.  Place your heavy, lidded pot in the oven about 30 minutes before you're set to bake your dough.  The pot can be cast iron, enamel, ceramic, or Pyrex.

When you can make a dent in the dough and it doesn't spring back, it's ready.

Using whatever ninja maneuvers you have, get the dough into your  heavy, lidded pot without it sticking to everything else in the process.

You will probably get flour all over yourself, the pot, your kitchen, and, if he's a curious fella, your dog.

Tell yourself it's okay.  There's a broom not three feet away that's going to fix this.

Put the lid on the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for another 15, or until you the top of your bread is golden.

Remove immediately from your pot and set to cool.

You'll know it's done by the traditional thump-test; if you thump the bottom and it sounds hollow, it's perfect.

Happy baking!

The Best Bread Recipe

adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

• 1 1/2 cups bread flour, or all-purpose
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons sugar
• 1 5/8 warm water, 105 to 115 degrees