Bread ver. 2.98

This is the bread with the crunchy crust and chewy crumb and the big holes.  New York Times no-knead bread recipe is great for a crowd of ravenous teenagers, but for one or two people it doesn't quite fit. I often take up to three days to finish a loaf using the original recipe.  Sometimes I'll eat bread to the exclusion of other tasty dishes. 

The solution is either to freeze half the loaf, or just make a smaller loaf that I can eat in a day or so. I elected the latter. I halved the ingredients, fermenting for the same amount of time and baking 20 minutes covered and 11 minutes uncovered at 450 degrees.

I also discovered a great place to ferment the dough:  on top of the Sub-zero fridge in Mom's house. In my house in Washington state, I'll probably put a light bulb and thermostat in an ice chest.

The Recipe:
Mix in a bowl:
1.5 cups all purpose flour (some of it can be whole wheat)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon yeast
6 oz (180 gm) water

Cover the bowl and let ferment for at least 12 hours.

A great ferment gives itself away by the presence of bubbles on the dough surface 12-24 hours after mixing. Don't worry if it ferments even longer--the dough will just become more like sourdough. 

Sprinkle the dough with flour and coat your palms with flour. Pick up the dough and fold it several times using flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Holding the dough in one hand, spoon about an inch of flour into the mixing bowl,  and gently lay the dough in the bowl. Sprinkle flour around the dough to keep it from sticking to the bowl's sides as it proofs. Let the dough proof for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 deg F. Place a covered baking dish in the oven to preheat. When the dough has doubled in size,  gently drop it into the dish,  cover the dish and bake 20 min covered and about 10-12 min uncovered until the crust has browned to your taste.

A note about the baking dish. I have used a 4-5 qt Dutch oven of aluminum and another of cast iron with great results. I baked the pictured loaf in a thick cake pan with tin foil as a cover.

Butter up!