14 DAY TRIAL // Sometimes, because we have so many options to choose from in terms of our everyday bread, we often go for the artificially-enriched one, believing we’re making a healthy choice. Making our own bread is hardly an option too, because it is a time-consuming process, and time is probably the last thing we have to dispose of. Thanks to the New York Times and FitSugar, we can now do precisely that, with the recipe for the no-knead whole wheat bread.
For the sake of the argument, if it’s homemade bread that we really want, we could always choose any of the myriad of recipes available, and simply purchase a dough machine that would make our job easier. But if we’re not inclined to spend more money, then this no-knead recipe should be just the thing for us, since the only waiting we have to do is to let the dough rise for 14 to 20 hours.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour; - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting; - 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast; - 1 1/4 teaspoons salt; - 1 5/8 cups water; - cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
Preparation:
Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 5/8 cups water and stir until the dough becomes sticky, then cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it rest for up to 20 hours (but no less than 12), at warm temperature. One solution for this would be to make the dough at night, after work – this way, you’ll know that tomorrow evening you’ll have fresh homemade bread for dinner.
After letting the dough rise, you should notice that its surface is dotted with bubbles – that’s how you know it’s ready. Take the dough and place it on a working surface that has been dusted with flour beforehand. Sprinkle more flour over the dough and then fold it over itself once or twice, wrap it in plastic and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Then, coat a cotton towel with more flour, wheat bran and cornmeal, and place the dough, now shaped as a ball, inside it. Add more of the three ingredients and then place another towel on top of it. Let the dough rise for another two hours, after which it will be almost double in size and of a more solid consistency.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and put a heavy-covered pot inside to heat as well. When the dough is ready, take the pot out, move the dough from the towel inside the pot, shake for it to distribute evenly, cover with the lid and put it in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes as such, and then for another 30 until the bread is browned. Cool on rack and serve with whatever it is you’re having for dinner. Enjoy!