No-Knead Bread Made with Fresh-Milled Flour

• 3
  cups
  freshly milled flour
  (about 2 cups hard white wheat berries + 1 cup khorasan/kamut; you may need a few extra tablespoons of berries to yield 3 cups flour)
• 2
  cups
  warm water
• 2 ¼
  teaspoon
  instant yeast
• 2
  teaspoon
  salt

• In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups warm water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast until the yeast is mostly dissolved.
• Add 3 cups freshly milled flour and stir until a shaggy, slightly wet dough forms. If the dough is soupy, add a tablespoon of flour at a time; if it is very stiff, add a little water. Fresh-milled flour absorbs moisture as it rests, so the dough should feel wetter than typical bread dough.
• Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside.

Stretch & Folds

• Set a timer for 20 minutes. Gently lift one side of the dough and fold it toward the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you’ve stretched and folded all four sides. The dough may tear at first; stretch only as far as it will go without forcing it. Cover.
• Wait another 20 minutes and repeat the stretch-and-fold. Cover.
• Repeat once more after 20 minutes, then again for a final 20-minute interval. By the last set, the dough should feel noticeably more elastic and cohesive, though still a bit tacky. If it tears easily, continue with additional 20-minute stretch-and-fold cycles until the dough becomes stronger.

Shaping

• After the final folds, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about 30–60 minutes depending on temperature.
• Place a Dutch oven inside your oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C). The pot should be very hot before baking.
• When the dough has doubled, lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out gently. Flour your hands and fold the edges toward the center to form a seam. Flip the dough seam-side down and gently tuck the bottom edges under to create surface tension across the top of the loaf.

Baking

• Place the shaped loaf on a piece of parchment and carefully transfer it into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake at 450°F for 40 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake an additional 10 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown.
• Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and let it cool at least 15 minutes before slicing to avoid a gummy crumb.