No Knead French Bread
This no knead French Bread is really simple to make and once you try you may never buy one again. With the price of everything going up so much these days the thought of paying $4.00 or more for a loaf of french bread or a single baguette is hard for me to swallow. With some time and very little effort I can make my own, and so can you.
This recipe yields two baguettes or one large loaf of bread. Depending on what your plans are for your bread make one or the other. I usually make the baguettes so that I have enough for a couple of meals. I usually plan on using one for Beef Dip sandwiches for a supper, and the other for an appetizer or to just eat slathered in butter and jam.
If you want an easy and quick recipe for roast beef (in case you want to make beef dips), then try my Instant Pot Roast beef you can find the recipe here or if you want an excellent appetizer then try my easy bruschetta recipe here.
This bread turns out nicely without a lot of effort, however what it does take is time. You will need to start the dough the night before you want to have it ready as it needs at least 12 hours to rise (you can leave it for up to 20, before it starts to deflate). Then it needs a second rise of 1-2 hours before baking for 40 minutes.
The crispy exterior of this bread is achieved by the addition of steam to the oven. Do not skip this step, it is important and you won’t achieve that perfect chew without it.
Serve this bread on its own, as part of a dinner or appetizer as I suggested above, or alongside a soup or pasta.
No Knead French Bread
Equipment
- 1 large bowl
- 1 large sheet pan
- 1 cake pan or deep sheet pan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 6 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp yeast (active dry)
- 2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water *105°-115°
Instructions
- This is an overnight rise, so the night before you want your bread combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.
- Add your lukewarm water and stir to combine everything into a dough.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a draft-free spot and let rise overnight for 12 hours (up to 20 hours) on the countertop
- The next day (after at least 12 hours), Uncover the dough. It should be sticky, and bubbly and slightly wet on top.
- Line your pan with parchment paper and sprinkle it generously with flour
- Flour your countertop and your hands well and remove the sticky dough out onto the well floured counter.
- If you are making one large loaf, then shape the dough into a large loaf and transfer it to your parchment lined AND well floured sheet pan. You can re shape the dough at this point after transferring. Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on the top of the loaf, then score the top with a sharp knife or blade, creating slits down the length of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for an additional 1-2 hours.
- If you are making baguettes, once the dough is on the counter, split it in half with a sharp knife and form into two long and skinny loaves, then continue as above.
- When the second rise time is nearly done, preheat your oven to 450°F
- In order to get a crusty exterior it helps to have moisture in the oven. You can do this by adding about 2 cups of hot water to a pan and placing it in the oven on the rack below the rack you will cook your bread on.
- After 10 minutes you can remove the water pan and continue baking the bread for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.