Easy, Slow Rise, No Knead Bread

I chose this recipe for my first post as I love the simplicity of it. For years I've been trying to master the art of bread making with little success. Yes, my recipes did look and taste sort of like bread, but I just couldn't get it to the quality of store bought. It was dense and tasted yeasty-yuk!

When I found a second hand bread machine online, I was convinced that was the answer to my problems. It was ok but still not how I imagined it should be. I know you're probably thinking that to get it to professional quality you need professional equipment and lots of bread enhancers. And you would be right, except that I stumbled on a recipe which will change that view.

Now I don't know about you but I love the cooking programs on TV and watch as many as I can. Well it was Matt Preston's slow rise bread on Australian MasterChef that changed all my bread making problems overnight. I started playing around with ingredients and found this simple process had a 100 percent success rate every time. Thanks Matt!!!

I felt like I had just won the lottery! I now make perfect bread every day for my family. Trust me you just have to try this recipe, especially if you have children. My 12 year old son who never touches bread loves it! And it's so simple I have taught him how to make it himself. So go on give it a go and let me know what you think. Just one thing to add though, I strongly recommend investing in an instant read thermometer. Once the bread reaches over 200F it's perfect. 

Print Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups of flour

500 ml (1 pint) cold water

2 tsp instant yeast

2 tsp salt

Put all four ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. You should have quite a sticky dough. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for about 4 hours to rise.

TIPS Try mixing different types of flour or add seeds. Rise in bowl or transfer to tin. Use lukewarm water to speed up rise. The amount of yeast used will also affect the rising time.                                                             

You will know when the dough is ready as lots of small bubbles will appear on the surface. Don't worry this recipe is very forgiving.

TIPS Ingredients don't need to be exact, play around with them. Temperatures (weather) will affect the measurements of flour and water used.
Here I replaced 2 cups of the white flour for wholemeal. If you grease and flour your tin it will come out easier.

TIPS I have used non stick foil to line my tray-fantastic stuff! You can use baking (parchment) paper if you wish.

Then it's just a matter of tipping it onto the lined tin. Use an oiled rubber spatula, it will come out of the bowl a lot easier. It's up to you what you put on top, I've sprinkled mine with flour, sometimes I use sesame seeds. Here you can get creative. 

Bake in a hot oven until bread reaches 200F, or sounds hollow when tapped underneath. However I strongly recommend purchasing an instant read thermometer for a perfect bake. Mine was about $40 (NZD) at my local kitchen shop and I use it for everything. TIPS If you want a softer crust add a tray of water to the bottom shelf of the oven and bake at a lower temperature. I bake mine at 430F, then turn it down towards the end. It's really dependent on the oven and ingredients used. Just remember a lower oven will take longer to bake. The loaf will take anywhere from 25-45 minutes.