Chuck’s No-Knead Bread
Description
Thursday night I soooo didn’t feel like cooking, so I threw together a beef and asparagus stirfry, loosely based on this, Beef and Broccoli Stirfry, but I tossed the beef in maybe 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar, started it off by sauteing some red onion with the garlic, and finished it off with a bit oyster sauce. Friday was burger and green salad night and last night Brock and I went out so the girls went to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa.
Tonight was barbecued sausage with Greek salad and Chuck Hughes’ No-Knead bread that I tried one afternoon and then put in the freezer for an evening such as this. I saw it on the Food Network and then looked the recipe up on the internet, the girls actually helped me make it, it was that easy…and it really did freeze beautifully.
Ingredients
Chuck’s No-Knead Bread – 2 loaves
3 c. very warm water
1 T. EACH dry active yeast AND sugar
1 T. EACH canola oil AND vinegar
3 c. white flour
2 1/2 – 3 c. whole wheat flour (I ended up using 2 3/4 c.)
1 T. EACH coarse salt, raw sugar AND steak spice
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar and then let it sit for a few minutes before adding in the oil and vinegar. Stir well.
Add the white flour one cup at a time, stirring well in between, mix in the salt, and then start adding the whole wheat flour, cup by cup until the dough is wet and spongy, but not dry. Mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl – it will look like a mess but it works. Cover it all with a damp tea towle and allow it to rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes until it’s doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375 and grease 2 loaf pans. Grease your hands! then use a large spatula or wooden spoon and try to cut the blob in half and use both hands to put each ‘piece’ into each loaf pan, lightly shaping each without kneading it at all, then use a sharp knife to make 2 or 3 diagonal (shallow) incisions in each loaf.
Sprinkle one loaf with the raw sugar and the other with the steak spice (or whatever you’d like) and then bake for about 50 minutes until they are crusty and golden – if they’re done, they should be easy to remove from their pans. Let them cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This may well turn into something that I always have in the freezer…
- Category: Bread and Buns, Make-ahead
