I must admit I did love seeing everyone making sourdough during the lockdown period - all over the world in fact. Me though, I’m not so patient. Taking care of a starter, feeding it, singing to it… oh it’s just not for me, at least not right now. And I am one of those people who would eat so much bread if I made it all the time, and that’s not good.
But I was super happy to be shown Adrian Richardson’s No Knead Sourdough recipe, that requires no starter, no feeding, no love and really isn’t kneady at all ;-)
Here’s the recipe:
Get yourself a large mixing bowl and mix together:
3 cups plain flour
1 ½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 ½ teaspoon salt
The dough is quite wet, but don’t panic, that’s perfect. Cover it with cling film and leave to prove on the bench for between 10 to 18 hours. I went for about 18 hours, simple because I got it ready the afternoon before and cooked it the next morning.
The dough will double in size and seem to be very wet, this is good.
When you’re ready to cook it you need a large heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, I have a big cast iron Chasseur pot which perfect. Preheat the oven (including the pot and the lid) to 220°C for 25 minutes.
Scrape out your dough onto a well-floured board or your benchtop and dust it with more flour. Form the dough into a ball. The dough will seem extremely soft and sticky, so be sure to use plenty of flour.
Remove the hot pot carefully from the oven, place the dough into the pot, replace the lid, and cook for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove the lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the dough is coloured and formed a nice crust.
When ready cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes or if are impatient like me tear some off and butter liberally.
