Overnight No Knead Bread



This is the easiest bread I've ever made, hands down.  It requires very little effort and I've made it probably dozens of times without fail.  I call it stupidly easy.  It's a pretty neutral flavor so you can add in lots of things or just serve it plain with butter and maybe some fruit preserves and it is delicious.
The only catch is that you need a lidded vessel to bake it in that can go up to 450 degrees.  I use my Le Creuset enameled cast iron dutch oven.    

Ingredients:
3 cups AP flour (you can use all whole wheat or a combo but the texture isn't quite as nice in my opinion - still tastes great though!)
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Whisk flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl (I use a 2 quart batter bowl).  Add water and mix until you don't see any dry pockets.  It will be shaggy and not very pretty.  Cover and leave at room temperature for 12-18 hours.  I've done 24 in my cool house and been fine.  It will at least double in size.
Preheat the pot with the lid on IN the oven to 450.  While the oven is preheating, flour your board and shape the dough into a ball.  You may have to knead a little bit of flour in if your dough is super sticky.  There are two ways I have used to get the dough into the pot when it comes up to temp.  The first is you can spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray and then place the formed dough ball on it.  Then you can use the paper as a sling.  Otherwise I just pull off the lid and then carefully plop it into the pot.  Cover with the lid and then bake for around 40 minutes.  If you want a more golden brown crust than mine you can take off the lid around 35 minutes and bake another 10 minutes or so.  Just keep an eye on it.
Let it cool for at least an hour before cutting!
If you want to make different flavors I like to mix things into the flour mixture before I add the water.  Some of our favorites include garlic powder, dried dill, Italian herb blends, and shredded cheese.  My personal favorite is cheddar, garlic, and dill.  My friend has done cinnamon and raisins and he said it was great too!

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