Warm Air Rises

I've made No-Knead Harvest Bread twice:  once it was fabulous but once it was awful.  The difference:  the overnight rise.  The first time I made it, the dough didn't rise at all, almost seemed to dry and toughen somewhat.  I realized it was probably too cold in our mid-fall kitchen, not near the mid 70s it ideally should be to rise.  So, Mama did some research and we had a plan:  put the dough in a warm oven overnight.  So, combining suggestions online, we turned the oven on to 400F for 2 minutes (not preheated and then waited two minutes!), turned off the heat, turned on the light, and place the covered dough (in an oven-proof dish) near the light, along with a pot of boiling water from the stove.  And it worked!  The dough rose and the oven was still warm and moist.  And the finished bread was delicious--not too sweet but hearty and flavorful.  


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No-Knead Harvest Bread

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur, of course!)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (ditto!  You can also use white whole wheat)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 3/4 cups cool water (we actually used warm, as per other no-knead recipes)
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (we used chopped apricots instead)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (we had walnuts, but fairly finely chopped)

1) Mix the flours, salt, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Stir, then use your hands to mix and form a sticky dough.

2) Work the dough just enough to incorporate all the flour, then work in the fruit and nuts.

3) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for at least 8 hours; it'll become bubbly and rise quite a bit, so use a large bowl.

4) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and form it into a log or round loaf to fit your 14" to 15" long lidded stoneware baker; 9" x 12" oval deep casserole dish with cover; or 9" to 10" round lidded baking crock. (We just put it in two regular loaf pans--could have probably have made a big loaf in one pan)

5) Place the dough in the lightly greased pan, smooth side up.

6) Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, until it's become puffy. It should rise noticeably, but it's not a real high-riser.

7) Place the lid on the pan, and put the bread in the cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 450°F.

8) Bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5 to 15 minutes, until it's deep brown in color, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205°F. Remove the bread from the oven, turn out onto a rack, and cool before slicing. King Arthur Flour