No-Knead and Overnight Breads
Cooking Skills: Bread 1
Chapter 5 · No-Knead and Overnight Breads
Skill goal
Let time and water do the kneading, handle very wet doughs and bake in a pot or from the fridge.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Kneading develops gluten by effort. Time can do the same job: if you mix a wet dough and leave it, the gluten forms by itself. These breads trade your effort for the yeast's time, and they have more flavour as a result.
Wet doughs
The more water in a dough, the more open and airy the crumb, and the stickier the dough. Hydration is the water as a percentage of the flour weight.
| Bread | Hydration | Feel | Crumb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tin loaf | About 60 to 65% | Soft, easy to knead | Even and fine |
| No-knead pot loaf | 75% | Wet and shaggy | Open, chewy |
| Focaccia | 80% | Very wet, stretches in the tin | Open, soft, oily |
| Ciabatta-style | 85% | Almost pourable | Large irregular holes |
Handle a wet dough with wet hands (or oiled hands) and a dough scraper. Flour makes it sticky; water doesn't.
Stretch and fold
Instead of kneading, wet your hand, lift one side of the dough, stretch it up and fold it over the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat four times, then rest the dough for 30 minutes. Do this three or four times. It builds strength gently, without tearing the gluten.
Why overnight works
- Little yeast, long time: a tiny amount of yeast over 12 to 18 hours gives a deeper, slightly sour flavour than a lot of yeast over 1 hour.
- The gluten builds itself: water and time do the kneading.
- The fridge is a pause button: it lets you decide when to bake.
Dough in the fridge
Dough in the fridge: bread dough is safe to prove overnight in the fridge: the cold slows the yeast. Cover it well so it doesn't dry out or pick up smells, and bake it within 16 hours or so for the best result. Don't taste raw dough.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
No-knead pot loaf
The no-knead dough from chapter 1 (Cooking Skills: Bread 1, chapter 1), baked in a very hot lidded pot. The pot traps the dough's own steam, which gives a thin, crackly, golden crust with no steam tray.
Ingredients (10 portions)
- 400 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 8 g fine salt (about 1½ tsp)
- ¼ tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 300 ml cool water
- Mix the flour, salt, yeast and water to a shaggy dough as in chapter 1 and leave covered for 12 to 18 hours, until bubbly and more than doubled.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface, fold the edges into the middle and shape into a rough ball. Place it, seam side down, on a sheet of baking paper in a bowl. Cover and leave for about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Half an hour before baking, put a lidded cast-iron pot (or ovenproof casserole) in the oven and heat it to 230°C (210°C fan).
- Slash the top. Carefully lift the dough by the baking paper into the hot pot, put the lid on and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until deep golden brown. Lift out and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes.
Very hot pot
A pot at 230°C: a preheated cast-iron or ceramic lidded pot is dangerously hot, and the lid handle and the rim burn instantly. Use thick, dry oven gloves, lower the dough in on baking paper rather than dropping it, take the lid off away from your face (the steam is scalding), and leave the pot on a heatproof surface to cool. Check that your pot and its lid knob are oven-safe to 230°C (many plastic or wooden knobs are not).Raw flour: flour is a raw ingredient and can carry bacteria such as E. coli, which are killed only by baking or cooking. Don't taste raw dough, don't let children eat or play with it, and wash your hands, bowls and surfaces after handling flour and dough.
Level 2 · Wet dough
Focaccia
Focaccia is a flat, dimpled, olive-oil bread. It uses a wet dough (80% hydration) that is too sticky to knead, so you stretch and fold it instead.
Ingredients (12 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 10 g fine salt
- 400 ml lukewarm water
- 5 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt and water with 1 tbsp of the oil in a large bowl until no dry flour is left. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- With wet hands, stretch and fold: pull one side of the dough up and fold it over to the middle, turn the bowl a quarter and repeat four times. Rest for 30 minutes and repeat the folds twice more.
- Pour 2 tbsp of oil into a 30 x 20 cm tin. Tip the dough in, turn to coat, and stretch gently to the corners (if it springs back, rest for 10 minutes). Cover and leave for 45 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Drizzle with the remaining oil, dimple deeply all over with oiled fingertips, and scatter with salt and rosemary.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Slide out of the tin onto a rack. Eat warm the same day.
Allergens
Allergens: bread contains wheat (gluten). Check the recipe for milk, butter, egg, sesame and other seeds, and nuts, and label them if you share the bread. Gluten-free bread uses different flours and methods and isn't covered in this course.
Level 2 · Fridge
Overnight rolls
Shape the rolls at night and bake them for breakfast. The fridge slows the yeast so nothing over-proves while you sleep.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast (about 1 tsp)
- 10 g fine salt
- 330 ml cold water
- 1 tbsp oil, for the tray
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt and cold water and knead for 5 minutes (or stretch and fold). Divide into 8 pieces and shape into tight balls.
- Place on an oiled tray, leaving 3 cm between them. Cover the whole tray loosely but completely (oiled cling film, a large upturned tray or a clean shower cap) and put in the fridge for 8 to 16 hours.
- In the morning, heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Leave the rolls out for 20 to 30 minutes while it heats up.
- Dust with flour, slash if you like, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until golden and hollow underneath. Cool for 10 minutes and eat warm.
Fridge dough
Dough in the fridge: bread dough is safe to prove overnight in the fridge: the cold slows the yeast. Cover it well so it doesn't dry out or pick up smells, and bake it within 16 hours or so for the best result. Don't taste raw dough.
Level 3 · Very wet
Ciabatta-style loaves
Ciabatta (Italian for slipper) has a wet dough (85% hydration), an open, holey crumb and a floury crust. The dough is almost pourable: use plenty of flour on the surface and a light touch.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 400 g strong white bread flour, plus lots of flour for dusting
- 8 g fine salt
- ½ tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 340 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Mix everything in a large bowl until no dry flour is left. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- With wet hands, stretch and fold the dough 4 times, then rest for 30 minutes. Repeat 3 more times, until the dough is smooth and bubbly. Cover and leave for another 30 to 60 minutes.
- Flour the surface generously. Tip the dough out gently without knocking out the bubbles and stretch into a rectangle. Cut in half and lay each half, floured, on a floured cloth or baking paper. Rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 230°C (210°C fan) with a tray and a roasting tin of water. Slide the loaves onto the hot tray, add the boiling water to the tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Cool on a rack.
Steam
Hot ovens, trays and steam: use dry oven gloves, pull the shelf out rather than reaching in, and put hot trays and tins on a heatproof surface. If you put a tray of boiling water in the oven for steam, pour it carefully with the oven door open a little and your face well back: the steam is far hotter than the water.
Experiments
Experiment
Rise time
Short or long.
- Make the no-knead dough. Bake half after 6 hours' rise (with a little extra yeast) and the rest after 16 hours.
Look for: The long-risen loaf has a stronger flavour, a more open crumb and a crisper crust; the short one is blander and denser.
Experiment
Hydration
Drier or wetter.
- Make two small batches of the no-knead dough: one with 65% water (260 ml for 400 g flour) and one with 80% (320 ml). Bake the same way.
Look for: The wetter loaf has bigger holes and a softer crumb but spreads more; the drier loaf is tighter and easier to shape.
Experiment
Pot or tray
The crust effect.
- Bake one no-knead loaf in the lidded pot and one on a hot tray with a steam tin.
Look for: The pot loaf has a thinner, glossier, crisper crust with more rise. The tray loaf is flatter with a thicker crust.
Experiment
Fridge or room
Where to prove overnight.
- Prove overnight rolls: half in the fridge and half at cool room temperature (about 18 to 20°C), both covered. Bake in the morning.
Look for: The room-temperature rolls over-prove and sag, while the fridge rolls hold their shape and bake high.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-knead pot loaf | ||||
| Focaccia | ||||
| Overnight rolls | ||||
| Ciabatta-style loaves | ||||
| Rise time | ||||
| Hydration | ||||
| Pot or tray | ||||
| Fridge or room |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dough too sticky to handle | That is normal for wet dough | Wet or oil your hands; use a scraper; don't add lots of flour |
| Loaf spreads out flat | Too wet, or over-proved | Use a pot or tin; shorten the rise a little |
| Dense, gummy crumb | Under-risen or cut too soon | Wait for bubbles and a doubled dough; cool for 30 minutes |
| Focaccia is tough | Too much flour, or over-baked | Keep the dough wet; bake until just golden |
| Pot loaf burnt on the base | Pot too hot or too thin | Put a tray beneath the pot; check the oven temperature |
| Rolls over-proved in the morning | Fridge not cold, or too long | Check the fridge is about 5°C; bake within 16 hours |
Heat and flour
A pot at 230°C: a preheated cast-iron or ceramic lidded pot is dangerously hot, and the lid handle and the rim burn instantly. Use thick, dry oven gloves, lower the dough in on baking paper rather than dropping it, take the lid off away from your face (the steam is scalding), and leave the pot on a heatproof surface to cool. Check that your pot and its lid knob are oven-safe to 230°C (many plastic or wooden knobs are not).Raw flour: flour is a raw ingredient and can carry bacteria such as E. coli, which are killed only by baking or cooking. Don't taste raw dough, don't let children eat or play with it, and wash your hands, bowls and surfaces after handling flour and dough.
Allergens: bread contains wheat (gluten). Check the recipe for milk, butter, egg, sesame and other seeds, and nuts, and label them if you share the bread. Gluten-free bread uses different flours and methods and isn't covered in this course.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can mix a no-knead dough and bake it in a lidded pot safely.
- I can handle a very wet dough with wet hands and a scraper.
- I can do stretch and fold.
- I can prove dough overnight in the fridge and bake from cold.
- I know how hydration changes the crumb.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Bread 1, chapter 6 is Rolls, Buns and Savoury Loaves: dividing evenly and adding cheese, herbs, seeds and olives.