I know, you are probably thinking “Ugly bread? UGLY?”
Well, I only call it that, because when you are making this simple bread, it looks like you are making a great big ugly mess. But this no-knead bread is a foundation for all sorts of flavor creations.
Just out of the oven
No-Knead “Ugly” Bread
by The Foodie Army Wife
3 c all-purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 c lukewarm water
To begin, you will prepare the dough the day before you are going to bake it.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast.
Stir those together and add 1 1/2 cup lukewarm water.
Stir this all together with a rubber spatula.
With the spatula, kind of push it into a round ball-like shape and cover it with plastic wrap.
Now set it on your counter and walk away.
The next day (12-18 hours later) you will heat your oven to 450 degrees.
Once it is up to temperature, you are going to heat an oven-safe Dutch Oven and lid. Let this heat 20-25 minutes.
While it is heating, spread a good dusting of flour onto a work surface.
Remove the plastic from the bowl and look at what you have.
Plop this sticky blob out onto your floured surface. With floured hands, pull out any dough that remains in the bowl.
Shape the dough into a ball, and cover it with the plastic until the Dutch oven is finished heating.
When it is ready, take the hot Dutch oven out of the oven, and carefully drop your dough in.
Bake it with the lid on for 30 minutes, and then remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes.
Remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.
This is the basic “Ugly” Bread. It is a soft, tender bread, with an “artisan” crunchy crust.
You can make any number of variations of this. You can add some shredded cheese, some herbs, citrus zest…how about Cranberries and Lemon zest? Or Raisins? Mozzarella & some dried oregano?
Experiment and have fun…what combinations might you come up with?
Enjoy!
