'Magic Elf' overnight bread

After having delicious home-made bread every time we had dinner at our friends' place, I was inspired to start making my own - hence the focaccia post a little while ago. The bread my friend Johanna makes though is a round, sliceable loaf that you can use for sandwiches or just eat as is. She's perfected the art of home bread-making and so can now have much better bread than you can easily buy here, and at a fraction of the cost. She and I both have French partners so going through a loaf of bread a day is nothing unusual.

So as you can guess, I weaselled the recipe from her - and the best part is, it's SO EASY - meaning she can and does make a loaf a day. All you need to do is leave it overnight (or longer) to relax the gluten. That's why I call it magic elf bread - it's as if little magic elves have visited your kitchen at night, doing all the kneading for you! Even though I quite enjoy kneading dough, there isn't always the time. The other good thing about this recipe is that leaving it for so long really improves the flavour (through slow fermentation) and the moist dough baked in a closed pot creates a wonderful crust - C'est magnifique! (The recipe by the way is not a French one but developed by a baker in Manhattan - see video below recipe)

My first attempt: I made the dough yesterday (in about 30 seconds, no kidding, and baked it today. Here's a video of me discovering the result:


No Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour (can use 1 c wholemeal an 2 c plain if you like), more for dusting

¼ teaspoon instant yeast (that's right, only 1/4 t!)

1¼ 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 20 degrees celsius (70 degrees F).

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 230 degrees celcius (450 F). Put a 24-32 c capacity (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.At first it might be hard or heavy feeling but after you've left it to cool, it will have a great slightly chewy texture with an incredible crust (not too thick).
Yield: One 680 g (1½-pound) loaf.






Oh yeah, and did I mention you don't have to just make round loaves?




You can make baguettes that even the French will squeeze and nod approvingly at: separate the risen dough into three or four pieces, shape them into rectangles, fold into thirds like a letter then roll into stick shapes. With this dough it can be a bit tricky as it's very soft and wobbly, so don't worry too much about achieving a flawless baguette shape. Place baguettes on an oven tray covered with ovenproof paper (pinch up paper between each one to keep them separated when they rise some more and spread out. Cover with a clean tea-towel and leave for about 1-3 hours. When risen, pull paper flat to leave 'breathing room' in between each baguette so they'll cook evenly. Place tray in an oven preheated to 200 degrees celsius and cook for just about 15 minutes (depending on your oven). The don't need to be covered and will cook quickly because of their greater surface area - see? I learnt something at school!