No-Knead Multigrain Whole Wheat Bread

Behold!  This is one scrumptious loaf of goodness.

Here's what a slice of this
yummy bread looks like.

Recipe from Artisan Bread with Steve 
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes 1 Loaf

I’m thinking this is my favorite no-knead bread.  Because it’s no-knead, it’s a cinch to make.  Though this bread is VERY easy to make, you must plan to begin the day before serving.

16 oz. cool water
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon yeast (Instant Yeast or Active Dry Yeast)
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (I use a mix of sesame seeds and black sesame seeds.)
1 Tablespoon flax meal (or flax seeds)
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups bread flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup old fashioned oats (I’ve also made this using quick-cooking oats.)
¼ cup old fashioned oats for the second rise
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (optional for second rise)

Place the water, salt, yeast, sesame seeds, flax meal into a large bowl and give it a quick stir.  Add the 2 cups bread flour, the 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour and then the ½ cup oats on top of the flour.  Stir until the dough forms a shaggy ball scraping the sides of the bowl as you stir.  Stir until the flour is absorbed and scraping the sides of the bowl as you stir.
Cover with plastic wrap (I like to use a shower cap for this.) and allow to sit on the counter for 8-24 hours. (I think it’s best to allow the dough to sit for the full 24 hours.)
Remove the plastic wrap.  Spray an 8 ½” X 4 ½” loaf pan*** with cooking spray.  
Stir the dough to deflate.  Scrape the sides of the bowl clean.  Sprinkle the dough the ¼ cup old fashioned oats and the sesame seeds, if using. Stir so that the dough ball is covered with the extra oats and sesame seeds. Roll the dough into the loaf pan.  
Cover with another loaf pan turned upside down onto the loaf pan with the dough.  Use binder clips to clip the loaf pans together creating a “poor man’s Dutch oven.”  
Allow the dough to rise again for 30-60 minutes.  (If your home is cool, like it might be in the winter, it may take a full 60 minutes for it to rise.  If your home is warm, like it might be in summer, the dough may only take 30 minutes or so.)
As the dough is rising, move the oven rack to the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 400F.  
Bake for 40 minutes with the top on and 3-15 minutes with the top off to finish (browning) the crust.  
The bread is done when the internal temperature is 190F.  Remove the bread from the pan onto a cooling rack.  Cool completely before slicing.  (If you slice it too soon, the bread will be gummy and doughy inside.)

***Because I was baking more than one loaf of bread, I placed the dough into an 8” diameter springform pan.  Then, I covered it with an upside down 8” cake pan for the “poor man’s Dutch oven.”  I didn’t use any clips.  I just rested the upside down cake pan on top. The loaf turned out beautifully and it was round!

No-Knead Honey (or Maple) Oatmeal Bread

Recipe from Artisan Bread with Steve 
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes 1 Loaf

This bread is just fantastic.  It not only tastes great, but it has a nice chew, perfect for a sandwich or to serve along side a hot bowl of soup or stew.  It is the easiest bread in the world to make, so it's ideal for beginner bakers.  

16 oz. cool water

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon yeast (Instant Yeast or Active Dry Yeast)

1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup (Using maple syrup will make this loaf vegan.)

3 ½ cups bread flour

1 cup Old fashioned oats 

¼ cup old fashioned oats for the second rise

3 Tablespoons bread flour for the second rise

Place all ingredients in a large bowl except the additional ¼ cup oats.  Stir until the flour is absorbed and scraping the sides of the bowl as you stir.

Cover with plastic wrap (I like to use a shower cap for this.) and allow to sit on the counter for 8-24 hours. (I think it’s best for flavor to allow the dough to sit for the 24 hours.)

Remove the plastic wrap.  Spray an 8 ½” X 4 ½”loaf pan*** with cooking spray.  

Stir the dough to deflate.  Scrape the sides of the bowl clean.  Sprinkle the dough the ¼ cup old fashioned oats. Stir so that the dough ball is covered with the extra oats. Sprinkle the dough with the 3 Tablespoons of bread flour and stir until the sides of the bowl are clean.  Dump the dough into the loaf pan.  

Cover with another loaf pan turned upside down onto the loaf pan with the dough.  Use binder clips to clip the loaf pans together creating a “poor man’s Dutch oven.”  

Allow the dough to rise again for 30-60 minutes.  As the dough is rising, move the oven rack to the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 400F.  

Bake for 35-40 minutes with the top on and 3-15 minutes with the top off to finish (browning) the crust.  

The bread is done when the internal temperature is 190F.  Remove the bread from the pan onto a cooling rack.  Cool completely before slicing.  (If you slice it too soon, the bread will be doughy inside.)

***Because I was baking more than one loaf of bread, I placed the dough into an 8” diameter springform pan.  Then, I covered it with an upside down 8” cake pan for the “poor man’s Dutch oven.”  I didn’t use any clips.  I just rested the upside down cake pan on top. The loaf turned out beautifully and it was round!

No-Knead Harvest Bread

Makes 1 large loaf

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Beginner bakers will love making this bread because it’s so easy and yet looks and tastes like it was made by a pro.  No need to spread it with butter or other toppings because it's delicious as is!  Begin the day before you plan to bake the bread so that the dough has time to develop flavor and texture. I would suggest mixing the dough on a Friday night after work and then on Saturday morning while you breakfast and get ready for the day, it can rise and then bake.  It’ll be ready in time for a Saturday night dinner party or for a delicious breakfast on Sunday.  

3¼ cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

½ teaspoon instant yeast

1 ¾ cup cool water

¾ cup dried cranberries

½ cup golden raisins

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts**

Mix the flours, yeast, and water in a large bowl.  Stir, then use your hands to mix and form a sticky dough.

Work the dough just enough to incorporate all the flour, then work in the fruit and nuts.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature overnight or for at least 8 hours;  it’ll become bubbly and rise quite a bit, so use a large bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and form it into a log or round loaf to fit in one of the following:

a 14” x 15” long lidded stoneware baker; a 9” X 12” oval deep casserole dish with cover; or 9” to 10” round lidded baking crock (I used a Le Crueset lidded stoneware Dutch oven.)

Place the dough in the lightly greased pan, smooth side up.

Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, until it’s become puffy.  It should rise noticeably, but it’s not a real high-riser.

Using a sharp knife, slash the bread in a crosshatch pattern.  Place the lid on the pan and put the bread in a cold oven.  Set the oven temperature to 450F.

Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5 to 15 minutes until it’s deep brown in color and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205F. 

Remove the bread from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack.  Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes: 

Walnuts sometimes give this bread a faint purple tinge.  If this bothers you, use pecans instead.

I like to add boiling water to dried fruit to plump them up.  I leave the fruit in the boiling water for about 5 minutes or so and then drain before adding the fruit to the recipe.

Nutritional Information:  (1 of 16 slices) 196 calories; 5 grams fat (1 gram saturated fat); 0 grams cholesterol; 293 mg sodium; 33 grams carbs; 3 grams fiber; 7 grams sugars; 5 grams protein

No-Knead Seeded Oat Bread

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I use a Rubbermaid 8-quart plastic container with a lid for all my no-knead breads.  

To make the container NOT AIRTIGHT, just drill four holes in the plastic lid.

Makes 4 (1 lb.) loaves (This recipe can be doubled or halved.)

Recipe from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Adapted and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This is a great tasting bread, healthful bread that takes just 5 minutes of prep!  After mixing the ingredients, just let the dough rise a couple of hours and stick it in the fridge for up to a week.  Dust the dough with a bit of flour on baking day, pull out a portion of the dough and shape it into a loaf.  Let it rise in the pan for a bit and then bake!  The original recipe said to make the loaf free form on a cookie sheet, but I found that baking it in a miniature “oven” made using two loaf pans and binder clips helped give this a nicer loaf shape. This would be a quite nice addition to your breakfast with a slather of butter and jam or as a yummy base for an open turkey, ham or chicken sandwich with a schmear of soft cheese.

2 cups whole-wheat flour (I use white whole-wheat flour.)

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats

2 Tablespoons ground flax seed (flax meal)

¾ cup pumpkin seeds, plus more for sprinkling on top (a.k.a. pepitas…no hull or shell)

¾ cup sunflower seeds, plus more for sprinkling on top (no hull or shell)

¾ cup sesame seeds, plus more for sprinkling on top (regular or black)

1 ½ Tablespoons granulated yeast or 2 packets

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

¼ cup vital wheat gluten

3 cups lukewarm water (About 100°F)

½ cup barley malt syrup, honey or agave syrup (I used barley malt syrup.)

¼ cup neutral-flavored oil (I used canola.)

Cornmeal, for sprinkling over the parchment paper (optional)

Mixing the Dough:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large lidded (not airtight) food container.  (See photo and note.)**

Combine the liquid ingredients  and then mix them into the dry ingredients using immaculately clean wet hands, incorporating the last bit of flour.  Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days.  The flavors will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours.

On Baking Day:

Lightly grease two 8½ x 4½ x 2¾-inch nonstick loaf pans. (One loaf pan will act as a lid.) Sprinkle the bottom of one of the loaf pans with a bit of cornmeal.

Dust the surface of the chilled dough with flour and cut off a 1 pound piece.  Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.  Elongate the ball into an oval.  Drop the dough into the prepared pan.  Turn the other loaf pan upside down and rest it on the loaf pan with the  dough.  To keep it in place, put a binder clip on each of the loaf pan handles.  Allow the dough to rest, covered, for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 400°F.  Spray the top of the loaf with a bit of water.  Sprinkle a small mixture of seeds over the top of the loaf.  Bake the bread near the center of the oven for about 35 minutes.  Remove the “lid” and bake for another 10 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Remove from the pan.  Allow the bread to cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Here are the steps to making the no-knead dough for this bread.
Put all the dry ingredients in.  Then add the wet ingredients.
Mix with your clean hand.  Cover with a lid (not air tight.)
Allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
Put the dough in the fridge for up to 7 days.

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