5-minute no-knead bread

I went to a meeting about food storage recently and they shared this recipe for no-knead bread that I really liked! I went right home and made it for dinner the next day. I discovered it's not technically 5 minutes but pretty darn close! It is very similar to Mel's Artisan Bread but this recipe does not rise over night. So depending on your schedule, you could make either one! With this recipe I used some wheat flour in it which resulted in a super dense, chewy bread. It was delicious spread with cold butter and served with a chunky stew! I would recommend immediately freezing any you don't eat because I discovered it doesn't taste a tenth as good the next day. However, on the other hand, when I thawed the frozen loaves, they tasted just as good as fresh! So there you have my tips... here is the recipe!

5-minute no-knead bread

submitted by Brittany

1 1/2 Tb yeast

1 1/2 Tb Kosher salt

3 cups lukewarm water

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can use 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour & 4 cups white if you wish)

Stir together all ingredients until you have a nice, thick dough. Make sure you stir it enough that there are no dry pockets of flour left anywhere in the dough. Cover well and let rise for 2 hours on the counter.

Sprinkle just a little flour over the dough and divide into 4 parts (or you can make 2 large loaves). Sprinkle with a little more flour to keep you hands from sticking and form into a ball. Place seam side down on parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal. Allow loaves to sit for 40 minutes (longer for the larger loaves).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone inside of oven to preheat as well. Also, place a shallow pan full of warm water on the bottom shelf of oven to make steam during baking. This creates a crusty exterior to the bread. Sprinkle loaves with flour again. Using a serrated knife, make several slices (criss-cross or straight) across the top of the bread to allow for expansion. Lift parchment paper with loaves on top and place directly on hot stone. (I didn't have parchment paper so I gently lifted the balls of dough onto my hot stone sprinkled with cornmeal and then cut the slices across the top.) Place baking stone on middle shelf of oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes.

**Dough can sit in frig for up to 2 weeks. If you are using dough from the frig it has already done the first 2-hour rise. Shape your loaves and let sit on counter like previous instructions, however, allow longer time because dough will be cold. You can even allow shaped loaves to rise in the frig for up to 14 hours. The dough will spread slightly but don't panic, it should still have a good spring to it once baked. For "refrigerator rise" bake at 475 for approx 30 minutes.