Effortless Rustic Bread

  4.3 – 20 reviews  

The favorite meatloaf in our family is loaded with mozzarella.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Additional Time: 5 hrs 40 mins
Total Time: 6 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 20
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

  1. 3 cups warm water
  2. 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
  3. 1 ½ tablespoons coarse salt
  4. 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  5. ½ cup cornmeal

Instructions

  1. Mix water, yeast, and salt together in a large bowl. Let stand until mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Stir flour into yeast mixture until well incorporated; the dough will be loose and look wet. Cover bowl loosely with a damp towel and let sit for about 5 hours.
  3. Shape dough into 2 loaves using damp hands. Place loaves on a cornmeal-dusted work surface and score tops a few times with a sharp knife. Transfer to a baking sheet and allow loaves to double in size, 30 to 60 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  5. Bake loaves in the preheated oven, spraying surface of dough occasionally with water, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Reviews

Daniel Cruz
This was AMAZING! I added the yeast to the warm (NOT hot) water with 2 tablespoons of sugar and let it set for 10 minutes til very bubbly. I wanted more of an herb bread, so I added: 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 1 teaspoon dried minced onions 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons Everything But the Bagel seasoning. The dough rose beautifully – probably 3 x the original size. Then I greased 2 loaf pans and sprinkled the corn meal on the bottoms of the pans. I divided the risen dough in half and plopped it into the 2 loaf pans. I let it rise again for 40 minutes and it was just above the loaf pans. Then I brushed melted butter over the breads. I had to put the loaf pans on a cookie sheet because the butter was running down the sides of the pans! I baked them at 425, and checked the temp of the bread at 20 and 30 minutes, but it wasn’t up to temp (160 to 185 degrees F in the center of the bread using an instant read thermometer), and was perfect at 40 minutes. It browned beautifully with the addition of the butter on top. Thank you so much for an easy and delicious bread recipe!
Anna Stewart
Horrible – never rose – was just one gloopy mess that stuck to the baking sheet before scraping off and throwing in the compost. A waste of flour. No info on using parchment paper? Lots of salt and no sugar in the yeast mixture? I bake bread often and this “simple” loaf was a nightmarish waste of time. Are we supposed to line the pan? Are we supposed to let it cool ion the pan or on a rack? Zero info led to a piece of junk. I guess they wanted to keep it “simple” by providing as little information as possible? Stick to the NYT (Sullivan Street Bakery) No Knead bread. It performs much better.
Sarah Johnston
Just made this recipe for the 1st time (1st time making bread in YEARS) and it’s delicious! I typically follow a recipe to a T on the first attempt, but I made these adjustments based on my knowledge and other reviews… -Used bread flour instead of AP flour -I mixed the salt into the flour, then added it to the yeast / water mixture. (to me it didn’t make sense to add salt while proofing the yeast) -I brushed the dough with butter just before putting into the oven. -Mine was baked using the convection option on my oven, I baked it at 425 for 30 min’s. Great results! I will definitely be making this again.I’m thinking to add some rosemary for an herbed version. And for the yeast / water mixture to add just a pinch of sugar to really get the yeast popping.
David Moore
First time making a non-kneading bread. Very different! Next time I will add a little sugar and a tad more salt (I used regular salt so decreased the amount some). I would let the dough rise in the bowl and then ‘pour’ it into a loaf shape on the (greased) pan, eliminating the mess of trying to move the wet dough twice – – and you can just dust the pan with the cornmeal prior to turning the dough onto it. I don’t have a squirt bottle for water, and the bread didn’t brown at all…(probably has nothing to do with the recipe) I thought next time I would baste it with some melted butter about 10 minutes before ready. I’m anxious to try it again – – great possibilities!!
Shannon Vaughn
40min@425 degF works perfectly for me i think the thing with the 20 minutes would be for a convection oven whereas mine is non convection, when i tried it at only 20 minutes it was way undercooked ive made it 4 times now, officially my favorite lazy bread recipe. im not sure it could be any easier
Danielle Cole
I used this recipe for my first ever attempt at bread and I was really pleased with the results. It turned out kind of ugly, but super yummy!
Patrick Gould
Easy to make and family made it disappear quite quickly.
Kim Moran
I mixed all the ingredients together, rested it for 5 hours and it came out great. I’ve made it twice.
Mrs. Rebecca Clark
Simple, great texture, tasty. Next time I’ll probably add more salt.
Erin Diaz
Great, Added a little olive oil for a softer bread and it worked well. I’m going to try a Garlic onion variant soon.
Nancy Mcdowell
The easiest bread I’ve ever made was quite interesting in the making. To start with, the yeast never got foamy even after stirring it for 10 minutes. My son says “Doesn’t salt kill the yeast?” Oh yes, I’ve always used sugar to proof the yeast. We continue anyway, not sure if the yeast is dead or alive. The 5 hour rise was a success, the yeast was alive and well. We divided the dough into two goopy blobs. We couldn’t form it into a loaf. We put it on the baking sheet with the cornmeal, instead of the countertop and let it rise again. Then baked it on the baking sheet. The bread was flatter than the picture, but it was wonderful. It was moist and spongy and was delicious even without butter.
Ricardo Krause
Just made this last night and I’ve already gone through half a loaf! My tastebuds are very happy. This bread is the best I’ve ever tasted!
Cody Marshall
Easy with great results!
Kathleen Mooney
So simple and taste so good. You can’t go wrong. I halved the recipe but the author is right, I should have made the whole batch. Thanks
Jeffrey Bray
My husband said never buy store made again!
Annette Smith
My attempt at this resulted in a goopey dough without any any shape at all. Undeterred, I threw the whole mess in a large dutch oven and crossed my fingers. About 40 minutes later, it was done and with pretty tasty results. Thick and heavy like a good sourdough. I actually liked it.
Kari Hodge
It came out wonderful. But i suggest maybe cutting the dpugh into four loaves it did come out a little softer in the middle but i do like it like this!
Derrick Campbell
Very easy to make, I love the crustness of the bread, made it twice now, I added 1 cup of whole wheat the second time, very addictive.
Michael Neal
Very easy recipe. I chose this for my first attempt at homemade bread and it came out perfect.
Cory Mccarty
I cut the recipe in half and just did one loaf. At 20 minutes the loaf looked done but the center was undercooked. I baked for 40 minutes. The crust was really hard to cut and the crumb was still a little gummy.

 

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