One of my goals was to be more self-sufficient, and of course baking one's own bread is a MUST! I had tried different ways and recipes and one day stumbled upon the blog of our dear friend David who lives in Quinson when he is not busy living in other places. Inspired by this no-knead bread recipe I set out to see what this was all about et voilà, with the first attempt I had managed to bake a very delicious bread! Over the course of time I added my own sourdough starter, something I had always been intrigued by due to the complexity of this task. At the end of the day it is super easy, and I really don't know what all the fuss is about...
I teach no-knead bread baking during my vegan cooking retreats and also show what else to make with this delicious bread, like yummy French toast! "no-knead bread" recipe time: about 5 minutes plus 12 hours rising time ingredients: 500 grams flour 250 ml water sourdough starter or ¼ teaspoon instant yeast 1 ¼ teaspoon salt extra flour as needed for dusting
In a large bowl combine flour, sourdough starter/yeast and salt. Add water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with an airtight lid. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably 18 hours, at room temperature.
Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour dough and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with lid and let rest another 15 minutes.
In the meantime heat oven to 220 degrees. Put a medium-sized heavy covered pot (cast iron, Pyrex, enamel or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. Once the oven has reached 220 degrees remove the pot and pour dough into it, placing the lid tightly, and bake for 30 minutes. Cool on rack.