This bread is rumored to be the worlds best bread, so easy that a four year old can make it. It is also a no knead bread which a lot of people is going to like and it is baked in a cooking pot. I must say it really is very easy to make although a bit lengthy, however, most of the time spent is downtime. If you make the dough in the early evening, it can rise overnight and you can bake it in the morning. For me this was really perfect for the weekend. Sunday morning we had fresh, warm baked bread for breakfast. Wonderful!
Please note: make sure your cast iron pot is completely preheated before placing dough into it, otherwise the bread may burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. And do not oil the bottom of the cooking pot.
Grydebrød aka No Knead Bread
Ingredients:
5 deciliter warm water between 100-110 degrees F (17 fl oz)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
625 gram all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Ensure water is between 100-110 degrees F (38-43 degrees C). Sprinkle active dry yeast over water and let sit for 10 min. Combine flour and salt. Add warm water to flour and stir only to combine, careful not to overwork. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 12 hours.
Dough has now finished its first rise and will be very soft and sticky. Sprinkle your table with flour and scrape dough out onto your work surface. Sprinkle a little more flour on top of dough. Fold dough over onto itself a couple of times, then turn it over and shape it into a ball. Place dough into a lightly grease and floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for another 2 hours.
Place a cast iron Dutch oven with its lid into oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for a solid 30 minutes. You want to ensure the cast iron pot and lid is completely up to temperature. Scrape the dough ball into the preheated Dutch oven, put the lid on and place it back into oven. Bake with lid on for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake for another 15 minutes or until bread is beautifully browned. If you are in doubt when the bread is done it should sound hollow when you knock on it or the internal temperature should be 190 degrees F (88 degrees C). Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
Source: Kvalimad
Just discovered your site and this recipe and am eager to try it! Since I don’t have a cast iron dutch oven but have other covered baking dishes, can you tell me the approximate size of the pot you used?
Paul, yes it was a 3 quart cast iron pot. Since you are using another type of dish let me know how it turns out. Make sure your dish/pot is completely preheated.
Is there an alternative to using plastic wrap?
Karen Anne, I suppose you can cover it with a clean dry tea towel.
I’ve been making this bread a long time now, and get requests to make and bring it with me to gatherings. I’ve even made No-Knead Rye Bread this way, and it was really good. Surprisingly so. Also… If you put your cast iron dutch oven in when you first turn the oven on, you have less chance of cracking the cast iron. Some of the newer and older cast iron pots can crack if they are either heated or cooled too rapidly.
Right, you want to make sure the Dutch is placed in the cold oven and preheated with the oven. Your No-knead Rye Bread sounds like it could be really good as well, good idea.
I’m just getting ready to mix up another loaf. It’s not really ‘loaf’ shaped, and I add a little more yeast, but the texture is very nice. This time round, I’m going to add some buttermilk which I froze after making butter this last time. I have no idea if it will work or not, but I can have some fun with it.
You can freeze buttermilk? This experiment sounds very interesting, please let me know how it turns out 😏
What is you don’t have a Dutch oven, can it be baked another way?
Lisa, from what I have read you should be able to use any cooking pot as long as it is oven proof and has a tight fitting lid. Hope this helps you.