Commons Bread

When my mother introduced brown bread to the family diet, she started something. I've eaten all sorts of different kinds of breads, some baked in outdoor rustic wood-fired ovens, some baked by my grandmother in her conventional electric oven (when she baked her 'pain de ménage'), from different kinds of grains, some herbed, some sweetened, baguette, olive oil, you name it. Never, ever would I have imagined that amazing bread could be made at home with a minimum of effort. Laura Calder's recipe for what she calls Miracle Boule  and is part of the No-Knead movement is not only frighteningly easy, but quite likely some of the best bread I have ever eaten. It is, also, a strange recipe. If you decide to try it, and I recommend that you do, follow the instructions to the letter, no matter how odd or wrong they appear to be. You'll end up with a beautiful, rustic round of bread with a crisp crust and a pleasantly chewy sponge. The only down side, and in my opinion it is a minor one, is that it takes 12-24 hours to make, because the dough needs so much time to rise. The wait is well worth it!
You can also leave the dough for an additional 24 hours and it will develop a sourdough flavour.
I originally called this my Wonder Bread, but I've changed the name to Commons Bread, in honour of reclaiming the commons for the people, to live a happy, really real, sustainable life. Bread, as a basic food, is a great place to start simplifying and making available to everyone the ability to make good, sustaining, satifying and nutritious food. Vive la Révolution! :)

ADDENDUM: turns out bread is far more interesting, versatile and sensitive than I ever thought. I'm starting some experiments that may change/clarify this recipe or create brand new ones! I'll save my notes here.

ADDADDENDUM: I have been making this bread in a much simpler format. Turns out that water temperature is a major factor, and it's possible to have same-day results within 4 hours instead of 24. This quicker version is available here.

3 cups flour (450gr)
¼ tsp instant yeast (yes, really, that's all!)
1¼ tsps salt (12gr)

1½ cups water (300 to 350gr) (for 4hr bread, must be at 125 to 130° F)
Your Options: Cornmeal, wheat bran, or extra flour, as needed

1. Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the water to blend (see NOTE). What you’ll have is wet, shaggy, sticky dough, but not so wet as to be batter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place for at least 12, and up to 24, hours. It’s ready for the next step when the surface is dotted with bubbles. It is crucial that the dough be kept warm, otherwise the little bit of yeast won't be able to proliferate in your dough - if you don't have a warm place, put in the cold oven and turn on the light; this should keep it plenty warm to rise.
2. Flour a work surface and dump the bread out onto it. Sprinkle over a little more flour and fold it once or twice. Upturn the bowl it was rising in over it and let rest 15 minutes.
3. Using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers, shape the dough into a ball. Sprinkle some flour onto a piece of parchment paper, and lay the dough on it, seam side down, and dust with more flour. Cover again with the upturned bowl and let rise, again being mindful of the temperature it's in, for about 2 hours. When ready, the dough will be more than double in size.
4. Heat the oven to 450°F\230°C. Put an 8-quart/2-litre cast iron pot or Dutch oven (cocotte) inside to heat. When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven, turn the dough into it, seam-side up (The parchment paper makes this pretty easy). Shake the pan to settle the bread evenly. Cover with the lid, and bake 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is nicely browned. Cool on a rack.

NOTE: When I mix my dough, I add 1 cup of water and blend that in, then start to add water averaging about a half cup. We live at sea-level next to the ocean in a temperate rain forest, and when the humidity is high, I needs up to a quarter of a cup less water - my marker that I have enough water is simply when all the flour has been taken up into the dough.

Originally published Monday, April 5, 2010