This is the easiest and best no-knead bread recipe you will ever need and you can enjoy adding whatever flavorings you like to this recipe, like cheese, olives, herbs, cranberries etc
Recipe by Jim Lahey adapted by Mark Bittman for the New York Times.
3 ⅓ cups/430 grams all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
¼ tsp instant yeast
2 tsp kosher salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran, as needed
In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons/390 milliliters water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, the dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least a half-hour before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Put a 6 to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K.
Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned.
Cool on a rack.