Every time I decide to make it, though, I end up scouring around the Internet looking for these updates, which adjust for those of us who have no luck using volume measures for bread (weights ftw) and who agree with Bittman that the original recipe needs a lot more salt.
Here are the two combined, plus any of my own changes and hacks for my own reference in the future. Here's something I always forget: this dough needs to rest three times, not just twice.
You've also gotta bake it early enough so that it can cool before you need it. I realize that's obvious to lots of people. But from experience, I know that it is not obvious to me.
No-knead bread
430 g flour
345 g warm water
1 g yeast
just under 1 tbsp salt
24 hours of time
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. It should be almost too wet to handle.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest 18 to 24 hours at warm room temperature (about 70 degrees). You can cheat and do 12 hours if you're stuck for time.
When the dough is dotted with bubbles and has well-developed gluten (long strands that stick to the sides of the bowl when it's tilted), it's ready.
Get your hands good and floury. Gather the dough in the bowl and fold it over itself once or twice. You want to handle it as little as possible. Cover the bowl again with plastic wrap (not as tightly) and let it rest again for 15 minutes.
For heaven's sake don't use a terry cloth or even a plain cotton cloth. Disaster. I'm not convinced there's enough flour in the world. Instead, flour the hell out of your hands (can also add cornmeal) and use enough flour to be able to handle the dough to form it into a ball. Put parchment paper into the bottom of the bowl, flour that, and put the ball of dough onto the paper. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest another two hours.
Make sure a dutch oven with lid is in a 500F oven for at least half an hour before you want to cook the bread. Take out the dutch oven and put it on a wire rack when you're ready to bake the bread. Reduce the oven temperature to 425.
If you're gonna score the thing, now's the time.
Pick up the parchment paper and put the dough, still in the paper, into the dutch oven. Cover with (also hot) lid.
Cook with lid on for 30 minutes.
Cook with lid on for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and cook for another 15-30 minutes, or until the dough is at least 200F on the inside and it looks cooked.
