Empty the Refrigerator, Bake Some Bread

If you’ve been visiting Pinterest in the past five years or so, you’ve undoubtedly seen a recipe or ten recipes for some kind of un-kneaded iteration of three-way bread. These recipes are popular for a reason. These loaves not only impress with their volume of work, but are also a great way to get past any obstacle you want to get rid of in your fridge, from a couple ounces of cheese to lonely fruits and vegetables.

You can do this with any no-knead recipe you like and I usually use this very simple recipe from Girl Versus Dough , although on the advice of the baker A.A. Newton , I lower the temperature and lengthen the bake time to make sure we have no dirt in the middle. To make yourself a loaf, you will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 to 1 cup whatever you want to mix, keeping volume on the underside if your superstructures are particularly wet or oily
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (should be lukewarm, not hot)

You can add almost anything to this dough, but you should follow a few general rules:

1. If you are going to use any good and greasy ingredients (like my pepperoni in the photo above) you will need to render this material and dry the crunchy pieces thoroughly on some paper towels.
2. Cook your fruit or vegetables a little to add flavor and remove excess moisture. Apples are especially good when fried in a little oil and salt, and all onions must obviously be caramelized.
3. If you want to add some jerky, non-meat foods like olives or pickled peppers, slice them up quickly with a knife and pat with paper towels.
4. Keep your chunks up to 1 / 4-1 / 2 “and chop or crush the cheese; This bread is a marvelous texture made with gluten, and heavy chunks can cause it to sag in places.

Once you have prepared the mixtures, pour the first three ingredients into a bowl and combine them with a fork or whisk. Add the tasty chunks gradually, breaking up the damp lumps so that everything is well coated in flour.

Add water and stir with a wooden spoon until you get a nice shaggy dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place it in a warm place in the house, and let it rise overnight until it is flat with visible bubbles. Preheat the oven to 400 ℉ and once it is hot, place a Dutch oven or other cast iron pot with a lid in the oven. Brush the top with a little flour and turn over onto a piece of parchment. Dip your hands in flour and shape the dough into a ball, placing it seam side down on the paper.

Cover the future bread with a piece of plastic wrap and let it sit for half an hour. After he takes a nap, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place all of the mixture, parchment, and everything else in a bowl. Close the lid and place in the oven for an hour. After 60 minutes, remove the lid and cook for 15 more.

Let the loaf cool slightly and submerge it, either tearing it apart into great chunks or carefully sawing it into slices. You probably won’t need butter for this flavorful bread, but you should probably spread it anyway. Any bread deserves a little butter.

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