World's Best Bread

Often, I wake up on a weekend, dying for some freshly baked bread but the work involves in bread baking at home is not at all desirable for me. So I often resolved to buying half baked breads, toss it in the oven for 6 - 8 minutes to get nice warm breads. Not a bad solution but it cost a lot to get nice breads this way. My problem has found its solution when I stumble upon the world's best bread recipe - 12hours No Knead Bread. 

Not only the bread taste amazingly good, it's also very very easy to make, not to mention it's only cost a fraction of pre-baked bread. All you need to do is to mix all ingredients together and let both time & yeast work out their chemistry for you. The wonderful smell that fills the kitchen when the bread is baking; the easy steps; and the final result of crisp crust, fluffy airy soft bread is definitely to die for. 

To make the bread, you'll need:-

312.5g flour (5dl) *any ordinary flour will do

250ml (2.5 dl) of water (normal temperature)

1 tsp salt

Yeast (the size of a green pea) OR 1/4 tsp of dry yeast

** This will make 1 loaf of bread more than enough for 2 hungry people ;)

1. Start preparing for the bread 12hours before you need it (I normally do it on the evening before). In a large bowl, pour in water, dissolve yeast & salt (make sure yeast is fully dissolved in water); add flour and mix until no big clump is observed. It should only takes 20 - 30 seconds. The dough should be very wet, so conventional home bakers, don't worry. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest at least 12 hours at room temperature.

** If dry yeast is used, then combine flour, yeast & salt together; and then add water into mixture until blended.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour work surface and 'pour' dough on it and fold the dough over itself once or twice. The dough should be very sticky, DO NOT knead the dough else all the hard work is wasted.

3. Transfer the folded dough into a buttered dish (or flour dusted tea towel), dust a little on the side where dough contacts with the dish for easier removal later, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise for another 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least half an hour before dough is supposed to be ready, heat oven (with fan) to 250degC. Put a heavy covered pot (the lid is important), be it casserole, cast iron, enamel or ceramic in oven as it heats. The reason to have half hour time is because different pot takes different time to heat up, and you want the pot to be sizzling hot when your dough is ready.

5. When dough is ready, remove pot from oven and carefully turn dough into the hot pot. You should hear sizzles when the dough & pot contact. It may look like a mess but that is absolutely ok for it will turn out beautiful & unique. Shake pan once or twice to get dough more evenly distributed. Cover the lid and bake for 30minutes.

6. After 30minutes, turn the oven heat down to 230degC, remove lid and continue to bake another 15 - 20 minutes until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on rack. Let it rest at least 10 minutes before cutting to let the crispy skin set. And there you have it, a beautiful loaf of wonderful bread.

I learnt mine from this Danish link: http://www.kvalimad.dk/opskrifter/verdens-bedste-broed and I find the video very helpful. Don't let the steps intimidate you because the amount of work involve is actually very little. I hope you find this helpful & bake a wonderful bread :D

P/S: Oh...and the pictures are from 2 batches of bread making, so easy & wonderfully taste that you can't stop making them :)