Rustic Yogurt Bread (no starter required)

Meet your new, easy rustic bread recipe. No starter required but with a new key ingredient, you’re on your way to delicious, crusty bread with the most insanely soft crumb.I first learned how to bake bread using the New York Times no knead bread recipe. It is a fabulous beginners loaf, but after starting to bake sourdough, going back to that recipe made me want more flavor.Normally starter is what provides that flavor but since many people don’t have starters right now, it got me thinking about a way to cheat your way into a sourdough-esque loaf. That’s where yogurt comes in! Yogurt is similar to sourdough in that it’s fermented, which is key to flavorful bread. This loaf is mild (definitely not sour) but still really delicious and has an amazing airy crumb. It also comes together more easily than sourdough, which can be quite finicky and who wants to be wasting flour right now on failed bread? I'm really excited about this recipe - hope you enjoy! 

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Rustic Yogurt Bread

Makes a 1 ½ pound loaf

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon yeast (instant or active will work)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup + 2tbsp water
• ½ cup greek yogurt 
• 1 tbsp honey 

Method 

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Mix together wet ingredients, and then stir into the dry ingredients -  the dough will be shaggy and very sticky. If you have any dry floury bits, use your hands to mix together the dough until those don’t remain. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 15 hours, but ideally 18-22 (longer proof = better flavor) in a warmish environment (65-70 degrees). 
2. When the dough is ready (it will be doubled in size and the surface dotted with lots of air bubbles), flour a work surface and scrape dough out onto it. Flour your hands generously and fold the dough onto itself, starting left to right and then rolling the dough over the seam so the seam is on the bottom. Lightly flour the top of the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes so the gluten can relax.
3. After 15 minutes, lightly flour the dough and your hands and shape the dough into a ball to create tension (this will help it rise later). Place a cotton towel in the bowl the bread was proofing in and generously coat the towel with flour (if you aren’t generous enough, it will stick later). Let the dough rise for 2 hours. 
4. 30 minutes before the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place your dutch oven in the oven to heat with it.** 
5. On a piece of parchment paper, turn the bowl with the dough upside down so the dough lands on the parchment and carefully remove the towel. If you want to score the bread, now is the time to do so! One swift cut. Using the parchment paper, pick up the dough and carefully place the whole thing in the hot dutch oven. Place the lid back on the dutch oven and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a rack and let rest for at least 1 hour until you cut into it (cutting into it before then will smush the air bubbles and release steam too early.)

** if you don’t have a dutch oven, you can use any other heavy pot with a lid - the lid is critical for trapping steam to help the bread both cook properly and prevent the crust from burning. If you use a stainless steel pot, do not preheat it in the oven as it will get too hot. Just place it in there when you start to bake the bread.