No-Fail, No-Knead Bread for Thanksgiving (or any occasion)

Crusty loaf ready to eat!

I was recruited to make the bread for the Thanksgiving celebration with my in-laws. I’ve made bread a few times – every single time using the no-knead bread recipe that is all over the internet. Since I haven’t yet made it (waiting for the last possible minute so that maybe I can bring the bread warm!), I don’t have any pictures (haven’t made it in such a long time since we have been eating mostly grain-free!).

The classic recipe was made popular by the New York Times, as adapted from Sullivan Street Bakery. Here are the ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1 5/8 cups water
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed (optional)

I like to make it a little more different to add some flavor. Here’s my version of the no-fail, no-knead bread:

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour (can use a combination of wheat and white flour), more for dusting

1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 1/2-3 tsp kosher or sea salt

1/2 cup beer

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning

Olive oil to brush top of bread

You will also need:

Large mixing bowl
Plastic wrap
Parchment paper or a flat counter
Kitchen towel (the non-terry cloth kind)
Dutch oven (some people have used Pirex dishes, but I have no experiences with them)

Instructions:

Mix in a large bowl all the dry ingredients
Add beer and warm water together into the dry ingredients
Stir until it’s a shaggy mess and any loose flour is mixed into the dough
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-20 hours in a warm, dry place (I put it on top of my refrigerator)
After it has slept, dough should be sticky and bubbly and look wet (the last time I made this bread it didn’t look very wet and bubbly, but it still turned out great)
Wet a fork, spatula, or just your hands and dump dough out onto floured counter or floured parchment paper
Wet hands and fold in half a few times until a less sticky, more ball-like dough forms
Generously dust a cotton towel with flour and place dough inside the folded towel, seam-side of dough up
Let nap for two hours
After 1 and 1/2 hours, put dutch oven (with lid) into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees
After oven and your cast-iron lidded pot has been heating for 30 minutes and your bread has napped for two hours, carefully remove pot from oven
Dump dough in pot, brush with oil, cover, and bake for 30 minutes (I like to place dough, seam side down, no a piece of parchment paper and lower the parchment paper, with dough in middle, into the pot. This prevents burning of bread, and your hands!)
After 30 minutes, uncover, brush with more oil if necessary, and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden and internal temperature has reached 210 degrees
Try and let cool before you cut into bread (lots of steam will be inside the bread if you don’t wait long enough)
Variations: add cheese, olives, garlic and other seasonings before the bread’s final nap!