artisanal sourdough bread...so easy!

 
I've had a sourdough crock bubbling away on the counter for quite awhile now. Sourdough is one of my favorite breads...crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside...yum!

So when I came across a no-knead recipe a few weeks ago, I had to try it out. A little reading through the recipe and I found that the dough had to sit and rise s.l.o.w.l.y.  -  12 to 18 hours slowly! Yikes, I almost tucked the recipe away. 

However; by 9 p.m. that night I whipped up the first part of the recipe and by 9 a.m. the next morning I was adding the last touches. This is what came out of the oven by lunchtime...

Absolutely wonderful! Crispy, golden crust...soft and chewy inside, just what I wanted!
Warm out of the oven we topped it with butter and smiled...mmmm. 

So here's the recipe...and really, don't let the time to make it worry you. Just toss it together before bedtime, then finish it up after doing the breakfast dishes. It's perfect pairing with with a bowl of of warm-you-to-your-toes soup!

Artisanal No-Knead Sourdough Bread 

3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. active dry yeast
1-3/4 t. salt
2/3 c. sourdough starter
1-1/2 c. water
1-1/2 T. cornmeal...for dusting

Whisk together flour, yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Combine starter and water; add to flour mixture. Blend with a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined...mixture will be very sticky and wet.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap; set aside at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. After at least 12 hours, dough should be dotted with bubbles and have doubled in size.

Turn out dough onto a surface lightly dusted with flour. Dust top of dough lightly with flour, cover with a cotton or linen tea towel, and set aside one to 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before the second rise is complete, place a round or oval 3-1/2 quart cast iron Dutch oven on the middle rack of oven; heat oven to 450 degrees. Once oven has reached desired temperature, carefully remove Dutch oven and sprinkle bottom with one tablespoon cornmeal.

Uncover dough and use a rubber spatula or two plastic dough scrapers, and fold dough over onto itself a few times; shape into a ball. Lift dough and drop into heated Dutch oven; dust lightly with remaining cornmeal. Bake bread, covered, for 35 minutes. Remove lid, rotate Dutch oven, and continue baking an additional 15 minutes, or until bread is golden.

Remove from oven, loosen loaf from Dutch oven and cool on a rack. Makes one loaf.

**You can find this recipe, and lots of other yummy ones, here...
in Grit's new Guide to Homemade Bread.**