15 February 2009  |  Recipes

No-knead bread: you need this recipe.

The past few weeks have been pretty uneventful- hence my lack of posts. I’ve been enjoying not having to drive to Boulder 3 days a week, and it’s been nice to be able to focus on training. I have also discovered no-knead bread, and I’m jumping on the bandwagon! This bread is SO easy and there are endless variations. So far I’ve made a whole wheat version and a rosemary-rye version. All you need is a little time.

Here’s the recipe for basic no-knead bread

• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 cups water
• 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1.5 tsp salt

1. Dissolve yeast in water
2. Mix flour and salt, add to wet ingredients and mix until combined
3. (Dough will be sticky)
4. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 12-18hrs (dough should be bubbly by then)
5. Gently turn out onto well-floured surface
6. Fold in sides, top, bottom (like wrapping a present), then cover loosely w/ plastic and let rest 15 mins (you might be able to skip this step, but I haven’t tried yet)
7. Place seam-side down in bowl lined w/ parchment, cover and leave for 1 hr
8. Pre-heat oven to 475 with a dutch oven or other baking dish (that has a lid) inside during the pre-heat
9. Gently pour dough into hot pan, seam-side up and bake, covered for 30 mins (You can sprinkle wheat bran or some extra flour on top before putting it in oven)
10. Remove cover and bake 15 more mins
11. Remove from oven and cool 1 hr before slicing

It seems like a lot of steps, but really it is so easy, and the bread is delicious- crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It rivals any bakery bread I’ve ever had. So I’ve been experimenting with different versions and so far haven’t found one I didn’t like. The bread makes fantastic cinnamon toast, french toast, regular toast, pretty much anything…

It even passes the Dusty test.

For the whole wheat version I used 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups regular flour. For the rosemary-rye version, I used 1 cup dark rye flour, 2 cups regular flour and a few stalks of fresh rosemary.

I also made a delicious coconut-crusted salmon tonight- very easy and TASTY too!
Here’s what I did:

You’ll need:

• finely shredded unsweetened coconut
• fine breadcrumbs- good use for old bread
• salt and pepper
• coriander
• turmeric (optional)
• lime juice

1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. Mix equal parts coconut and breadcrumbs. Add a pinch or two of turmeric.
3. Rinse and dry salmon fillets, then sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and coriander.
4. Squeeze lime juice over fillets and then dredge in the coconut mixture, coating both sides.
5. Heat (on high) some canola oil in an oven-proof skillet.
6. Add fish, skin side up, and sear until the flesh side is golden, then flip and place in oven to finish cooking.

Enjoy!