How to make bread w/o bread maker

Homemade, No knead, Artisan bread. Easy. Cheap. And tasty!

Important! You will need about 3.5 hours total. Actually prep time only takes 15-20 min but there are two times it needs to rise. Factor that in. Cook time is about 25-30 min.

I suggest reading this first then following along as you prepare your first loaf. Brands don't matter. Buy/use what you like. When in doubt. Experiment and try something new.

Just make sure it's unbleached.

Pretty much any instant yeast works.

Salt

Parchment paper

Oven safe to over 400F/200C is what's important here.

Optional: just adds some flavor. Choose one or both. Add dried peppers if you want. Or fruit or cheese.

Step one: water (1.5 cups) and salt in bowl. Sprinkle yeast over it. Let stand for 2 min then stir. Note: 3/4 tbps is somewhat rare. I use one 1/2 tbps and half of 1 tsp. It's close to 3/4 tbps.

About 3/4 tbps

After two min or so stir

Best to measure your flour like this.

Pour flour in. Add honey and or seasoning if you wish. Stir with spoon

It doesn't call for any kneading however I usually do a little bit with my hands. Also adding some olive oil can make taking it out of the bowl easier.

This is roughly what it should look like. Maybe a little different if you didn't add oil. Let sit in warm area for 2 hours, covered, to rise.

Step two: the wait. Let it rise for about 2 hours in a warm area (70-90F/ 20-32C). A warming tray on its lowest setting may work. Just make sure it's not too hot.

Take it out of the bowl. Dropping it on floured parchment paper then folding it twice. Form it into a ball. This is a picture of it folded. Already lightly floured on both sides

I formed it longer rather than round. Personal preference. Let rise like this uncovered for 40-50 min. Start to preheat oven at 30-40 min mark. Oven should be at 435-445F/225-230C when cooking.

Preheat.

Having a pan with some water helps to not dry out the bread while cooking.

After 40 min size should increase a little

Cut into bread. I usually do 3 lines sometimes filling with brown sugar (it caramelizes in the oven)

In the oven it goes. Timer set for 27 minutes. I'll turn it in the oven after 18 minutes

I used the brown sugar. Tastes wonderful.