OK here is the easiest bread you'll ever make. It's the "easy dutch oven bread" or "no knead bread" recipe made popular in the New York Times a while ago. This is impossible to screw up. You can add stuff, change how long you let it rise, ...how long you let it rest, it always comes out great.
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast mixed with 1 1/2 cups warm water. Let it get happy for about 10 minutes.( If you're going to add herbs like I did, now is the time to do that so the leaves soften in the warm water. I used a big fistful of basil and Italian parsley and a tablespoon of minced garlic.)
Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of flour. It will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rise for 8-20 hours.( I cut these up into strips after about 3 hours, rolled them in a lot of flour and let them rise for about 2 more hours, then combined them on a sheet of foil in little wads, all cozy so they bake together.) But normally you'd just take that sticky wad after whatever amount of time usually at least 8 hours so it's all big and poofy, flour it really well, fold it over ONCE and then let it rise another 2 hours covered in a lot of flour and a towl- not plastic. Total, you spend about 10 minutes actually "doing something" with this bread, time it out how you want. But the less you touch it the softer it will be. Do not knead this bread!
Once you've done the 'flour and let it go another two hours' part, turn the oven to 475 with a dutch oven IN the oven and preheat thoroughly, you want it to be reallllllly hot when you put the dough in. I use a big ceramic bowl covered in foil as I have no dutch oven, works fine. Place the dough either directly onto the dutch oven or on the foil so you don't squish it. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes. Take cover off and bake another 5 minutes to brown the top. Yum.
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast mixed with 1 1/2 cups warm water. Let it get happy for about 10 minutes.( If you're going to add herbs like I did, now is the time to do that so the leaves soften in the warm water. I used a big fistful of basil and Italian parsley and a tablespoon of minced garlic.)
Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of flour. It will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rise for 8-20 hours.( I cut these up into strips after about 3 hours, rolled them in a lot of flour and let them rise for about 2 more hours, then combined them on a sheet of foil in little wads, all cozy so they bake together.) But normally you'd just take that sticky wad after whatever amount of time usually at least 8 hours so it's all big and poofy, flour it really well, fold it over ONCE and then let it rise another 2 hours covered in a lot of flour and a towl- not plastic. Total, you spend about 10 minutes actually "doing something" with this bread, time it out how you want. But the less you touch it the softer it will be. Do not knead this bread!
Once you've done the 'flour and let it go another two hours' part, turn the oven to 475 with a dutch oven IN the oven and preheat thoroughly, you want it to be reallllllly hot when you put the dough in. I use a big ceramic bowl covered in foil as I have no dutch oven, works fine. Place the dough either directly onto the dutch oven or on the foil so you don't squish it. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes. Take cover off and bake another 5 minutes to brown the top. Yum.
