No need to knead

Tomorrow is my birthday and my cat's. I didn't find any birthday cards for my cat in the mail today and he hasn't really received any presents except a new favorite box to replace his old worn out one. I on the other hand, got lots of wonderful presents and it isn't even officially my birthday yet. The best gift of all is my "almost brand new" Le Creuset. Thank goodness for outlet malls!


Now that I finally have the treasured cast-iron-heavy-duty-cook-anything pot, I can't wait to see what it can do. Does it really evenly distribute heat and brown and caramelize food to perfection. So far I can say yes, and yes. I've already ordered Molly Steven's All About Braising to get me started cooking in this massive thing. Anyone else know some great and perhaps unconventional uses of the Le Creuset?

I won't be cooking up a special birthday surprise for my cat but I did use it to make no-knead bread (ok, he tasted it too). I don't know what is more surprising, baking a loaf of bread in a pot or not having to knead. I can attest that it does work and boy is it simple. If you don't have a cast-iron dutch oven you can also use a regular pot (I think). I used Mark Bittman's NY Times recipes (c/o Steamy Kitchen) and threw in some wheat flour to make it more nutritious. The results were really amazing -- light and airy interior, crisp and browned exterior. Mine came out a little too "wet" but I think I didn't bake it long enough.

This is all you have to do:

The night before you want to bake the bread mix the following in a big bowl until it comes together into a wet dough.

3 cups bread flour (I used 2.5 cups King Arthur bread flour and 0.5 cups KA wheat flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water

Cover your big bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for about 12 hours or more. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will develop with the yeast. One to two hours before baking, take the dough out with wet hands and put on a floured surface. Gently fold the dough until you get it into a nice round ball. Don't use a lot of flour. Let it sit at least another hour in this shape. Before baking preheat the oven to 450 with the pot inside to heat up as well. Once everything is nice and hot, carefully place the loaf in the pan and put a lid on it. Let it bake for about 25 minutes then remove the lid to let it brown for about 15 minutes more.

That's it! I can't wait to try experimenting with this. You can add herbs, cheeses, seeds, and nuts. You can make a sweetened loaf and add chocolate or cinnamon. Hungry yet?