The thing I definitely love the most about this isolation situation is waking up to the smell of Klaus’ freshly baked bread. There is absolutely no other breakfast that can beat that. It’s a recipe he’s known for many years, this effortless bread. And what makes this bread effortless is the fact that you don’t have to knead the dough for a long time, but it’s enough to quickly stir the ingredients together, leave it to rise overnight and voilà!
He used to bake it in an old ceramic stew pot, but once it broke, the era of bread also ended in our house. Until we bought a cast iron pot and Klaus got some forced extra free time.
Looking back to the time we bought from Ikea a cast iron casserole, I don’t even know why I hesitated that day when we were considering whether to buy the casserole or not. Definitely the quality of the bread has improved since we switched from ceramic to cast iron (but don’t worry, if you don’t have a cast iron pot it will still taste delicious also baked in a ceramic pot). Not only for baking, these casseroles make the most delicious slow cook recipes and I think everyone should own one! Be sure to buy one with a lid though, because it’s an essential part for the success of many recipes, including this one.
The thing I love the most about his bread is that it’s very crunchy on the outside, but very soft and moist on the inside. I don’t know about you, but I generally tend to dislike dry bread that feels like cardboard in your mouth.
Anyway, now it’s Klaus turn to reveal his recipe!
So yeah, We’ve been doing what everyone else in quarantine is doing: baking bread. The one I’ve been making is basically a rip-off of the famous New York Times No-Knead bread recipe, but with few differences. I used rye and Graham flour instead, to give this bread a more wholesome taste. So, as promised, here’s the recipe:
Effortless Bread
Ingredients
- 300 g Wheat flour 5 dl ( ~ 2 ¼ cups)
- 60 g Graham flour 1 dl ( ~ ½ cup)
- 45 g Rye flour 1 dl ( ~½ cup)
- 2 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp dry yeast
- 3,5 dl warm water ( ~ 1 ½ cups)
Instructions
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add water and mix again, not too heartily.
- Cover the bowl and let rise for 12-18 hours, the more the better.
- Pour the dough on a floured surface and spread it to a square shape.
- Flip the 4 outer corners toward the center a couple of times and let it again rise under a towel for 1h-1,5h.
- Put a cast iron pot (can be ceramic as well) in the oven and heat up to 225° degrees Celsius, at least 30 min before the dough is ready.
- Once the pot is hot, place the dough in the pot, cover with a lid and let it cook for 30 mins under the lid.
- Then remove the lid and bake still for 15 minutes.
- Take the bread out of the pot, let it cool down and enjoy!
- The bread should have a nice crunchy surface and soft and moist inside and is perfect with just a bit of butter, or good olive oil & salt as the Italians would have it.
Jill
Hi! I’m excited to try the recipe. I just wanted to verify if Wheat flour=all purpose flour. I don’t have rye so am hoping I can sub in spelt flour. Also do you grease the baking dish at all or does it easily release once done? Thanks!
Thais FK
Hello! I’m so glad you’re planning to try this recipe, definitely the easiest way to bake a nice loaf of bread. All purpose flour will do just great and spelt or wholewheat flour are a good substitute for rye. Also, I don’t grease then cast iron pan as it is smoking hot. If you feel unsure, you could place the dough on a piece of baking paper and into the pan. Good luck with your baking!