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The problem with Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread is that it almost takes 3 hours to complete.

So unless I get up very early in the morning, I cant make it in time for breakfast.

Is it possible to freeze the bread half baked? or make the bread the evening before and just heat it the next morning?

Other suggestions are welcome.

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    I can't find the question which discussed half baking your bread, but there are ways to slow the rising (less yeast, colder) so it rises overnight and is baked in 35 min in the morning. See cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/14548/…, cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/14184/…
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Sep 16, 2011 at 9:11
  • Alternatively bake it the day before, slice, freeze, and toast when needed. We almost always freeze our bread because we can't eat it before it starts to go stale.
    – justkt
    Commented Sep 16, 2011 at 15:45
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    @rumtscho: I think you're looking for cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/13948/… - though I happen to know the OP, and it didn't turn out perfectly. It's pretty hard to get the timing right.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Commented Sep 16, 2011 at 22:51
  • Isn't the entire premise of no-knead bread that it rises overnight in the refrigerator, resulting in better flavor and near zero active prep time? What takes three hours?
    – Theodore Murdock
    Commented May 1, 2012 at 23:59

5 Answers 5

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I make a no knead bread up the weekend before, usually enough for about 8 boules. I keep it in the fridge all week and pull out as much as I need to bake at one time and pop it into the oven, usually in 1/2 pound sizes. I also re-use whatever dough I have left and mix it into the new batch the next weekend and keep it in the same container in the fridge. The worst thing I have ever had happen though is my bread kept rising in the fridge and that was a mess, still not sure what I did wrong with that batch.

By controlling the portion size you are cooking you can control the time it takes to bake, and if you make the dough up on the weekend and keep it all week, you should be able to streamline your process.

This process for me originated from Mother Earth News, and looking back on that article, which originally included the master recipe(s), they have books all about the process. So here is a link to that article and the subsequent publications. Happy baking!

Mother Earth News - Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day

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I have developed the following method for "no knead" bread, it works EVERY time and is scrumptious.

  1. Mix 650gm strong white flour in a bowl, pinch of salt, slug of olive oil, 440 mls warm water and 5 (yes 5) teaspoons of dried yeast.
  2. Mix with food mixer for 4 -5 minutes.
  3. Place in oiled plastic bowl, and cover bowl with oiled clingfilm.
  4. Fill a stainless sink with very warm water. Float the bowl with the dough in the water. Leave the bowl to proof for 1 hour (don't touch it).
  5. The dough will have doubled in size. Remove the dough and place in a greased baking tin. Turn on the oven and pull out oven shelf as far as it will go. Place the baking tin with the dough inside on the extended shelf of oven for 30 minutes.
  6. Place a metal pot of water in bottom of oven. Put bread now into a fairly warm fan-forced oven (220°-230° C).
  7. Bake until you can smell aroma (approx 25 -30 mins). To test for being done, the loaf should sound hollow when knocked. You now have stunning "artisan type bread" and you haven't had to knead anything or get your hands dirty.

This works well during the summer and winter and can be made in time for breakfast, i.e. 2 hrs start to finish and needs no help from you.

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I make no knead bread all the time. I assume the 3 hours to complete means the last two hours of proofing, and 45 mins of baking. You can safely shave 1 hour of proofing but it will still take about 2 hours for the final process.

The other way is to bake the bread and keep it in the fridge. Then slice and toast it when you want it.

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There are a number of options.

  1. Start the recipe on the eve, and bake in the morning.
  2. Bake the bread halfway and then freeze it (see this answer).
  3. Bake the bread and freeze it for later use.
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I am a great fan of no knead bread, and i prepare the 400g of flour version for 2 people.

As it is hard to eat all in one time, the bread is usually eaten the next day too.

After the bread is cool i put it in a plastic bag and eat it next day. It is not the same thing as eating recently baked, but it is superior to the standard industrial bread.

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  • This isn't really an answer. These are nice comments and they could be helpful, but you really should have made them a comment on the question OR on an answer. Something to consider: upvote an answer and add your comments to re-enforce the person. It helps everyone!
    – MADCookie
    Commented May 1, 2012 at 19:30
  • The idea was to say that the bread can be made the day before and kept sealed for later use. Based on the content of other answers, i agree with your comment.
    – Morts
    Commented May 23, 2014 at 1:42

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