No-Knead Bread

Method

1. 1Evening, day before: In a large bowl combine flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water. Stir with a wooden spoon or your hand until no dry flour remains — about 30 seconds. The dough will be shaggy, sticky, and wet. That's exactly right. Do not add more flour. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid.
2. 2Let the dough ferment at room temperature for 12–18 hours. You'll know it's ready when the surface is covered in bubbles and the dough has more than doubled. It should smell pleasantly tangy and yeasty. If your kitchen is cold it may need the full 18 hours; if warm, 12 may be enough.
3. 3When the dough is ready, generously flour a clean work surface. Scrape the dough out — it will be sticky and stretch in long threads. Don't fight this. Gently fold the dough over itself a few times using a scraper or your hands. Shape it loosely into a ball. Place it seam-side down on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Dust the top with flour, drape a clean kitchen towel over it, and let rest 1.5–2 hours. It should puff noticeably.
4. 4About 30 minutes before the dough is ready, place a Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid into the oven and preheat to 245°C (475°F). The pot must be screaming hot when the bread goes in — this is the oven within an oven that creates the crust.
5. 5When the dough has proofed, carefully take the Dutch oven out. Lower the dough in using the parchment paper as a sling. Score the top with a sharp knife or scissors if desired. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake another 12–15 minutes until the crust is deeply golden-brown.
6. 6Remove the bread and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before cutting. Cutting it hot seems tempting, but the crumb is still setting inside — slice too early and it compresses and becomes gummy.