You love freshly baked bread, but the thought of baking it yourself is daunting. You are just not into baking, and are left with no other choice than buying it in the grocery store.

Of course, store-bought bread doesn’t taste very good, contains questionable ingredients, and all the packaging generates so much waste.

It gets even worse if you are trying to go to the grocery store less frequently because the bread gets stale very quickly.

I have been in the the same shoes for years, and although I still don’t like baking, I have this one bread that is so easy that I can literally bake it daily.

What’s the secret?

The secret of this recipe is the long resting time of the dough. By letting it rest for so many hours, you remove the need to knead it repeatedly. Basically, you trade your active working time with waiting time. All in all, the amount of active time where you’ll actually have to do something is literally 5 minutes – the rest is just waiting!

The original recipe is coming from Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, and was published by the New York Times several years ago. Although the recipe was promoted as an easy, no-knead recipe for beginners, I found that it still required too many steps.

So I have simplified it even more and was left with a bare-minimum recipe that still gets the job done and gives an aromatic fresh loaf every time, with a crunchy crust and soft, sponge-like consistency inside.

Get Your Ingredients Ready

The fist step is to get your ingredients ready. Luckily, there are only four: flour, yeast, salt and water.

Mix the Dough in a Bowl

In a large bowl, mix flour, yeast and salt. Then pour in the water and mix with a large wooden spoon until the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl anymore.

Cover the bowl (I use a reusable silicone lid) but leave a tiny gap to get some air circulating. Leave it on the kitchen counter at room temperature for about 18-19 hours.

When ready, the dough should have risen and you should see small bubbles on its surface.

Set the oven to 450F and let it preheat.

Shape the Dough into a Ball and Place into a Baking Pan

In the meantime, dust some flour on a working surface. I use a silicone baking mat as it’s easy to clean up.

Shape the dough into a ball by folding it into itself a couple times – use flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the working surface and your fingers.

Place the dough into a baking pan with the “seams” down and the smooth surface facing up. Cover and let rest for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, your oven should be preheating: it’s important that the oven is very hot when you place the bread inside.

Bake Covered, then Remove the Lid

After about half an hour, it’s time to put the bread in the oven. You’ll need to cover your baking pan – I use another pan, but you can also cover it with the silicone baking mat or any other oven-proof lid. In the original recipe, they used a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic), which probably gives better results.

Bake covered for about 30-40 minutes, then remove the lid. Be careful when you take off the lid as there is a lot of steamy hot air in the pan. Let the bread bake for another 15-30 minutes uncovered, until it’s golden brown. The baking times may vary depending on your baking pan and oven.

Take Out From the Oven and Let Cool

Take the break out of the oven, remove it from the baking pan and let cool on a rack for about half an hour.

Cut a few slices of your freshly baked bread and enjoy!