While you do need to think ahead and prep the dough the night before, not having to knead the dough cuts out a lot of the faff and grunt work. It also makes this recipe ridiculously easy.
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine table salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
Covered pot (large cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel…something that can go into an 180 C oven.)
Directions
The day before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together (it will be a doughy mess). Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.
In the morning the dough will be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. Place a large sheet of baking paper on the bench top then plop your dough onto baking paper. Lift paper up with dough and place into a large bowl. Cover bowl with a towel. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 180 C. (Note: make sure your bowl is oven proof).
Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Grab the ends of the parchment paper and lift the dough out of the bowl into a pot, it doesn’t matter which way it lands. Then shake to even the dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden. Remove and let cool on wired rack.
If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in the oven set at 180 C.