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Pap Steve's no-knead Italian bread made with Polselli 00 flour, scored and baked golden

Pap Steve's No-Knead Italian Bread with Polselli 00 Flour

A rustic, crackly-crusted Italian loaf made with just six real ingredients. Five minutes of stirring, a long lazy rise on the counter, and a Dutch oven do all the work.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Rise 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 12 slices (1 large loaf)
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups (355-415 g) lukewarm water, 80-100 F
  • 1-2 tsp fresh local honey
  • 8 g salt about 1 1/4 tsp table salt or 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher
  • 3.5 g dry yeast 1 tsp, instant or active dry
  • 420 g Polselli 00 bread or pizza flour about 3 cups, plus extra for dusting
  • 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil for coating the dough

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Dutch oven with lid
  • Silicone bread sling or parchment paper
  • Kitchen scale
  • Instant-read thermometer (optional)

Method
 

  1. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the water with the honey, salt and yeast in a big bowl until the honey dissolves. Add all the flour and stir until no dry flour remains. Pap Steve likes a wetter dough: add the remaining water a little at a time until the dough is very sticky and slack, like a thick batter that just holds together.
  2. Drizzle the olive oil over the dough and coat the top and sides. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter for 6 to 12 hours. It will rise, then sag. In a warm kitchen (78 F or warmer), check it at 6 to 8 hours.
  3. Put the Dutch oven, lid on, in the oven and preheat to 450 F for 30 to 45 minutes.
  4. With a wet hand, stretch one side of the dough up and fold it over the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat three more times. Rest 15 minutes in summer or 30 in winter.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a silicone bread sling or parchment, dust with flour and score or snip the top. Carefully lower it into the hot pot and cover.
  6. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover, reduce to 400 F and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until deep golden brown and the inside reads 205-210 F.
  7. Lift the loaf onto a wire rack and cool at least 45 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Wetter dough means a more open, airy crumb; start with 1 1/2 cups water and go up to 1 3/4 cups depending on how the dough looks and feels. Weigh the flour and salt for best results. Keeps 2-3 days in a paper bag; slice and freeze for longer. Same dough makes a great focaccia.
Times: the dough rises on the counter for 6 to 12 hours (6 hours is entered above as the Rise time). Cool the baked loaf on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing (cooling is not included in the times above).