Jim Lahey's No Knead Dough
Jim Lahey's no knead dough is one of my all time favorite pizza dough recipes. Not only is it simple but it doesn't require equipment. His dough jumps off of the Baking Steel and delivers incredible results. Before we get into the recipe, I want to stress the importance of using a scale to measure your ingredients. If you are serious about baking, dough making especially, measuring your ingredients by weight is a must (stop guessing and get your self a digital scale). A cup of flour can weigh anywhere between 4-6 ounces, depending on how it is packed or fluffed. With a scale, you are guaranteeing accuracy and consistency. Which translates into the same dough every time.
Create Some Love,
Andris
Ingredients:
500 Grams bread flour
16 grams fine sea salt
1 gram active dry yeast
350 grams water
15 grams Bob's Vital Wheat Gluten
Instructions:
1. Using your scale, pour 500 grams (3 3/4 cups) of flour into your mixing bowl.
2. Next, add 1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) of active dry yeast
3. Pour in 16 grams (2 teaspoons) of fine sea salt.
4. This next step is not part of Jim Lahey's recipe but it is something I learned from Modernist Cuisine. I add 1 tablespoon of Bob's Red Mill vital wheat gluten. This dough is delicate, the Bob's wheat gluten gives the dough more texture and elasticity.
5. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in your mixing bowl.
6. Pour in 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of water.
7. With either a wooden spoon or your hands, blend all of the ingredients together. Once the ingredients have bonded and your dough looks similar to the pictures above, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Wet your towel beforehand and ring out all of the water so that it is slightly damp. This will help prevent the top of your dough from drying out.
8. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 18 hours, it will have at least doubled in volume. Tiny little air bubbles should be evident.
9.Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Gently shape into a rough rectangle. Divide into equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, gather 4 corners to center to create 4 folds. Turn seam side down and mold gently into a ball. Dust dough with flour; set aside on work surface or a floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining portions.
You are all done. It really is that simple.
*If I am not ready to use my dough, I separate it into equal parts and store them in my fridge in these round cylinders (pro-tip: round pizza starts with round dough). When I am finally ready to make my pizzas, I pull the dough out of the fridge about an hour before hand and let it sit at room temperature.
