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Half loaf of easy to make no knead bread on a cutting board.

Advanced No-Knead Bread Recipe

Course: Appetizer, Bread
Cuisine: American, European
Keyword: no-knead bread, quick no-knead bread
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Fermentation and proofing: 5 hours
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 187kcal
Author: Victor
Advanced recipe and technique to make the best no-knead bread.
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Ingredients

  • 600 g all-purpose flour (about 4 cups using 'scoop and sweep' method; King Arthur brand recommended)
  • 450 g water (2 cups, room temperature)
  • 21 g honey (1 Tbsp)
  • 12 g kosher salt (two tsp)
  • 3 g SAF Gold instant yeast (1 tsp)

Instructions

  • Add the water and honey to a large bowl and mix until the honey is dissolved.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand, squeezing the dough between your fingers, until a sticky homogeneous mass is formed. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.
  • After one hour, perform stretch and folds every 30 minutes over the next one and half hours. Let the dough continue its fermentation for additional one and a half hours or until it doubles in size.
  • Shape the dough in a ball and transfer to a proofing basket dusted with a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and rice flour, seam side down.
  • Cover with a piece of paper towel (this will prevent sticking of the dough to the plastic wrap), then with a plastic wrap. Let proof for about 60 minutes or until the dough passes the finger test (see post for details). The dough will increase in size about one a half times or so.
  • Meanwhile, place a baking stone and a steam pan in the oven (see notes). Preheat the oven to 500F. An hour of preheating is recommended.
  • Turn the bread over on a piece of parchment paper. Score on top and place in the oven using a pizza shovel. Be careful opening the oven, it will be full of hot steam. Spray the walls of the oven with a bit of water (gentle mist) to re-create some of the lost steam and close the door.
  • Immediately drop the temperature to 450F and bake for 25 minutes.
  • Remove the water pan from the oven, turn the bread 180 degrees and leave the door cracked open. You can use a wooden spoon for that. Bake for another 25 minutes.
  • When the baking is done, remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature before slicing.

Notes

The steam pan is a bread pan with a rolled up kitchen towel inside and filled with water. As the oven preheats, the water will heat up and start boiling. The kitchen towel will ensure a slow and steady steam release during baking. I position the steam pan below the baking stone and to the side. If possible, the stone should not be directly above the steam pan for efficient steam flow.
If your oven, like mine, has a steam vent, you may want to close it with a kitchen towel during the first 25 minutes of baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 2mg