There is nothing better than fresh made bread. No Knead is a great and easy bread to bake since there’s very little that needs to be done to create perfection; just a few simple ingredients and the time to allow the bread to ferment.

This recipe and inspiration is courtesy of Jim Lahey from Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. This is a popular recipe and has been documented in multiple publications and I typically make the bread as the standard recipe suggests, but recently I’ve begun to add jalapeno and cheddar during the second rise and the results have been outstanding!

I will caution you and myself 😉, baking is a science and you might need more or less of the ingredients below based on your climate and oven. Two, jalapenos are a tricky pepper to use and you’ll either have heat or they’ll fall short in delivering that punch. The bread created today delivered the punch 👍

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour and extra for dusting and your second rise
• 1/4tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2TBS of salt
• 1 5/8 cups of room temperature water
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, I used Cabot Seriously Sharp
• 2 jalapenos, sliced thinly

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add your flour, yeast and salt and whisk together until well combined. Remember this is a No Knead, so combining those ingredients are key because you don’t want to over knead your bread later.

2. Now create a pocket in the center of your flour and add the water. Stir until blended and your dough should be shaggy and sticky. Again, don’t over knead, it might not be pretty, but it will be perfection once it bakes. Note: If your dough doesn’t become shaggy and sticky you might need more water. If your dough looks too shaggy and sticky, add a touch more flour.

3. Time to ferment – Cover your bowl with cotton kitchen towel and let the dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably overnight at warm room temperature.

4. You will know your dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.

5. Lightly flour a large piece of parchment paper and place your dough on the paper. Add a touch more flour and your jalapeno and cheddar and fold it over onto itself two or three times.

6. Now shape into a ball with the seam down on the paper. Note: I use parchment paper because it helps with the transfer to the warm pot, but you could also just do your second knead on a floured surface and transfer to a second floured cotton kitchen towel once you’re creating your ball.

7. Time for the second rise – Lightly flour your cotton kitchen towel so it doesn’t stick to the dough and cover the dough. Let the dough 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 you poke it.  If it’s under-proofed, the dough will spring back rather quickly. Over-proofed dough won’t have much strength and the indentation will remain as is.

8. Time to prepare for the baking – At least a half-hour before the dough is ready, heat your oven to 450 degrees and place a 6- or 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from oven. Now place the parchment paper into the pot. Note: You can also dump the dough into the pot without the parchment paper. The dough will likely look messy, but don’t worry, just shake the pot a bit and the bread will straighten up during the during the baking process.

9. Time to bake – Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the bread is browned to perfection.

10. Cool on a rack and trust me you want it to cool for a bit. We’re always tempted, but the longer you wait, the more perfection is created.

11. Once cooled, serve with fresh butter and enjoy!