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Crockpot Crusty White Loaf | DonalSkehan.com
  • desserts-baking

Crockpot Crusty White Loaf

May 05

The no-knead technique skips the traditional kneading process, allowing the dough to ferment for 12 to 18 hours. This simple method develops gluten naturally, resulting in a flavorful, airy loaf with minimal effort. Cooking this in a heavy casserole pot gives you wonderfully satisfying results.

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 3h 45mins

Method

  1. 1. Mix the flours & salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. 2. Whisk the yeast, sugar and water together in a jug and mix until the sugar has dissolved.
  3. 3. Slowly add the water to the bowl with the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough has come together - you don’t want any dry patches of flour but there’s no need to mix vigorously - just enough for the dough to come together.
  4. 4. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel or some cling film and set aside for about 3 hours or until doubled in size.
  5. 5. When the dough has nearly risen, place the oven on to preheat to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Place a large cast iron pot with a lid or dutch oven dish into the oven to get hot - you want both the pot and the oven to be really hot.
  6. 6. When the pot is ready, scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and gently shape into a ball with floured hands and then place the ball of dough onto a piece of baking paper slightly larger than the dough ball. You can score the top with a sharp knife if you want to.
  7. 7. Remove the pot from the oven carefully using oven gloves and remove the lid. Use the baking paper to lift the dough ball into the pot - being careful to not touch the pot then place the lid back on the pot.
  8. 8. Bake the bread for 35 minutes then gently remove the bread from the pot and place back into the oven for 10 - 15 to brown the crust.
  9. 9. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool to at least room temperature before slicing and serving.

Ingredients

7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

2tsp strong white flour

2tsp salt

7g fast action yeast

1 tsp caster sugar

12fl oz room temperature water

To serve:

Butter, jam, marmalade

210g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

200g strong white flour

9g salt

7g fast action yeast

1 tsp caster sugar

355ml room temperature water

To serve:

Butter, jam, marmalade