Winter Weekend Bread

originally published Thursday, February 1st 2007

Winter Weekend Bread
As I get older, I feel more strongly the pull of nature's seasons and cycles. I've noticed that I need more rest than I used to. I don't really feel like working after dark and I can't pull an all-nighter too often without consequences,
This winter, more than any other so far, I feel like staying in. The lack of cold weather this winter hasn't stopped me from enjoying lots of movies at home, letter-writing, knitting, cooking and baking. I find a lot of pleasure in these activities especially when I remember how different things are in summer. While summer is a time for long sun-filled days, lots of activity and spending time outside.. winter is a time of rest, renewal and reflection.
I've come to appreciate the slow speed of my winter activities, and I'm willing to invest a little extra time in projects and endeavors that promise to yield great results.
Lately I've been having some fun with this bread recipe originally printed in a New York Times piece by Mark Bittman last November. The recipe comes from Jim Lahey at Sullivan Street Bakery. It's a no-knead bread recipe that requires almost no work. Besides a few simple ingredients, all you need is patience and a little time. It's a great activity for a cold winter weekend. Start your bread on Friday or Saturday afternoon and bake the following day. You'll be amazed how nice it is to have the house filled with the smell of yeast and baking bread, especially when you've done so little work. Give it a try! Let me know what kind of variations you come up with!
Seasons are a gift, so enjoy this lovely time while it lasts. We'll be plugging in those air conditioners before you know it!

No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting **
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf.

**Recipe Note: I've had great results with a mixture of 2 cups whole wheat bread flour and 1 cup unbleached white bread flour. It yields a crusty, delicious loaf that is pleasantly chewy as whole grain bread should be.