No Knead Salt Bread

Ingredients

• 365 g cold tap water (instead of ice water since mixing by hand)
• 40 g butter (softened (for dough))
• 12 pieces butter chunks (15g each (about 1.5 sticks total))
• 400 g bread flour
• 120 g cake flour
• 26 g sugar
• 10 g salt (for dough)
• 30 g non-fat milk powder
• 7 g instant dry yeast
• to taste pretzel salt (for topping)

Method

1. 1

   Wash your hands thoroughly before starting - trust me, this is important for a good result!

2. 2

   In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, and yeast. Add the cold tap water and mix until no dry flour remains. The mixture will smell good at this point and should be sticky - don't panic, this is totally normal!

3. 3

   Cover the dough and let it rest for 25 minutes. This short rest allows gluten to begin forming naturally without any effort from you.

4. 4

   Add the softened butter to the dough in 2-3 additions and knead by hand for about 3 minutes. This will be a workout, but keep going until all the butter is mixed through and the dough comes together into one cohesive mass. The dough won't be smooth at this point - and that's perfectly fine!

5. 5

   Cover and let rest for another 25 minutes. Instead of force, we're using time to let the dough relax and improve on its own.

6. 6

   Perform the first set of stretch and folds. There are 3 sets total, each 25 minutes apart. Stretch the dough from different directions - the dough will become smoother and more elastic with each fold.

7. 7

   After the third stretch and fold, the dough should look super smooth and pass the windowpane test. If it's not quite there yet, do some coil folds, slap and folds, and rounding until it appears smooth.

8. 8

   Let the dough rise until it's about 1.5 times its original size (takes around 1 hour in a 78°F house). Test by poking with a floured finger - if the hole stays without springing back, it's ready.

9. 9

   Divide the dough into 80g portions and roll each into a smooth ball. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

10. 10

    Shape each dough ball into a long teardrop shape with the top wide and bottom narrow. Flatten the bottom half with a rolling pin, then flatten the wider top into a triangle. Place a butter chunk at the wide end and roll tightly into tadpole shapes.

11. 11

    Place rolls on a baking tray (no parchment paper) with space between them. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

12. 12

    Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Spray rolls lightly with water and sprinkle pretzel salt on top.

13. 13

    Just before baking, spray each roll generously (about 20 pumps) for added steam. Lower oven to 400°F (204°C) and bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the tray halfway if needed for even browning.

14. 14

    Enjoy hot out of the oven - the bottoms will be crisp and buttery, the insides fluffy and soft with that molten butter center!