Sundays – Tile bread Grandma's way

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 600 g flour (type 550 or 405) and something to work with
• ¼ cube of yeast (10.5g; or just under ½ tsp dry yeast)
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp vinegar (good white wine vinegar)
• 480 ml water, cold (or buttermilk or whey)
• e.g. wheat bran, wholemeal flour or bran for the form

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 16 hours; Total time approx. 16 hours 30 minutes

1 kilo loaf of no-knead bread

Place the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center, and dissolve the yeast, salt, and sugar with a little water, then mix. Fold in the remaining water (using a wooden spoon or dough hook). The dough should now have the consistency of spaetzle dough and be very sticky. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap and let it rise for at least 12 hours, preferably 16-18, at cool room temperature (max. 22°C). (I prepare the dough the night before for dinner, or the day before at lunchtime for weekend brunch or breakfast.) 2-3 hours before the meal, flour the work surface. Transfer the now bubbly, strongly sour-smelling dough to the work surface using a dough scraper or rubber spatula. Sprinkle the top evenly with flour. Using the floured dough scraper, fold the spreading dough several times from the outside inward until it forms a ball. Use just enough flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to the scraper. Line a clean, dry bowl with a linen or cotton baking cloth and dust the cloth with flour. Place the dough ball, also dusted with flour or bran, into the bowl with the seam facing down. Sprinkle again with bran, wholemeal wheat flour, or bran, and fold the cloth over it. Let it rise for another 2 (up to 3) hours. Preheat the oven with a 4-liter ovenproof dish on the second rack to 220-230°C fan/convection, 240°C top/bottom heat, gas mark on high. After 10-15 minutes, carefully remove the hot dish and immediately slide the dough from the cloth into the dish upside down (seam facing up). Shake briefly if necessary to ensure even distribution; immediately place the lid on the hot oven. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 20-25 minutes (depending on the desired browning) until browned and crispy. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.