'5 Minute' Bread

For years, I've been using a bread machine for kneading dough, mainly for pizza crust, but I've been wanting to try no-knead bread for awhile now. I recently got a couple of dough rising buckets so I could try it in a way that would work in limited space and not take up too much room in the fridge. (The dough buckets are more upright than a bowl.)

I have started with a basic recipe but plan to try some of the variations in the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day and may get the sequel which has healthier, whole grain recipes.

I weighed the ingredients to be sure I had the right amounts. I opted to mix the ingredients by hand directly in the dough bucket. It was a cinch and there was hardly any clean up, basically just the spoon!

It rose very well on the counter for 2 hours. Here it is toward the end of the 2 hours, before I put it in the fridge.

A little over 24 hours later, I grabbed a blob of dough from the bucket, shaped it and let it rise for about 45 minutes.

Here is the baked boule with my fingers for scale. A nice amount of fresh bread for dinner and a little left for breakfast or snacking too. The flavor was excellent and the texture was nicely chewy.

We ate this first boule last night. The remaining dough in the fridge should make about 3 more small loaves during the next week. I think this technique is going to become a habit!