I didn't realize that there could be an easier bread approach than the famed Jim Lahey No Knead Bread recipe (I believe it is still the most viewed NY Times Cooking online recipe). However, when searching for a different bread inspiration recently, I found the insanely easy Simple Crusty Bread recipe, also from the NY Times.
You don't even knead this bread once – rather, just stir together the four necessary ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, and water) and let the dough rise.
The original recipe yields 4 loaves and the dough can stay in the fridge, covered, for two weeks (!). I halved the recipe for my first effort, which produced two hearty, crusty loaves that were the perfect accompaniment to winter soups.
To form the bread post-rise, just cut off the portion of the dough you want to bake (for me, 1/2 of the halved dough recipe was a great side portion for 3 – 4 people) and let is rest for ~40 minutes while you heat a pizza stone in the oven. Dust the dough with some flour and score it before baking on the hot pizza stone.
To make the resting and baking less messy, I placed the shaped dough on parchment paper, which I then transferred directly to the stone. You also put some water into a pre-heated broiler pan just below the bread as well to give the dough enough moisture during baking.
The first time I baked the bread, I took it out of the oven after only 26 minutes (instead of 30) because the bread looked well browned at that point. However, the next time, I kept it in for approx. 28 – 29 minutes which led to more consistent browning and crustiness around the bread. The differences between bread #1 (slightly underbaked) and bread #2 (more fully baked) are noted below.
(Bread #1)
(Bread #1 Bottom)
(Bread #2)
(Bread #2 Bottom)
This recipe will absolutely be a staple in our kitchen for the years and decades ahead!
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