This is a crucial component to my salicylate free diet because I have not been able to eat a commercially made bread, whether that be organic, bakery-style or mass-produced store-bought bread.

This cast-iron bread recipe, which is sourced from the New York Time Cooking recipe “No-Knead Bread Recipe” from Jim Lahey, Adapted by Mark Bittman. You will need 24 hours to create the bread, as a slow fermentation process of the dough that results in a perfect loaf. 

Modified Recipe

• 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting (King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast (Red Star brand)
• Pitch of sugar
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Tools

• Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven – (Staub Enameled 4QT Round Cocotte)
• Ceramic mixing bowl

Step One

In a large ceramic bowl, pour in a pile of the flour. Make a small well or divot in the middle. Add yeast in the middle with a pinch of sugar to feed the dry active yeast and 1/4 luke-warm water. Let it sit in the open for about 15 minutes while the yeast activates. After 15 minutes is up, add about 1 1⁄2 cups water and sea salt, stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and wrap entire bowl in kitchen towel. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 hours, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Step Two

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a cutting board and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Let rest for 15 minutes covered in the same bowl.

Step Three

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Loosely wrap with fine knit kitchen towel or cloth napkin (not terry cloth) and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

Step Four

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 4 quart cast iron (Staub cocette) in oven as it heats. When oven is heated and ready, carefully remove pot from oven and unfold towel to drop in to the pot. This is toughest part, if you didn’t work in enough flour for the dough to not stick to the cloth towel. I take a knife and cut x-shape on the top of the dough before adding lid and placing in oven. Bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. After cooling, package in a plastic bag and refrigerate, use within 5-7 days.

The Original Version: New York Times Cooking Recipe – No Knead Bread by Mark Bittman