No Knead Bread With Carrots and Walnuts
In my childhood, there wasn't a strict meal plan, but there were definitely a few weekly traditions: Saturday was casserole day and Sundays always meant cold dinner. The table was really lavishly set with various breads, spreads, cold cuts, pickled and fresh vegetables. It was truly the opposite of a boring bread meal, and yet as a child, I was only semi-enthusiastic about it. I would've much preferred celebrating casserole Saturday every day, of course. I actually only learned to love cold dinners again after moving out of my parents' house. And by now, the dinner bread tradition has crept back into my own life, but with a small change.
I really love baking the bread for it myself. Since sourdough bread is a bit too high-maintenance for me and I unfortunately keep forgetting the sourdough starter, no-knead breads have become more popular with me – bread doughs that require absolutely no kneading. And really, really anyone can make these – yes, even you who are reading this right now thinking: Bread baking? Never ever! Way too complicated! But don't worry: Today we're not starting any sourdough, you don't have to take a kneading course, and you don't have to fold the dough for hours either. Today we're simply throwing together a few ingredients, letting them rest, putting the dough in a pot, and the oven does the rest for us.
But what good is the best bread without toppings?
My dinner bread table now looks very much like the one from my childhood – so we're not skimping on topping options. But I definitely have more spreads than just (vegan) butter and cream cheese, and I love the spreads from Tartex for that. They have so many varieties that you haven't seen a million times, and I haven't tried one yet that I didn't like. A few of my favorites are spicy tomato, mushroom-onion, spinach-pine nut (SO good!), mustard-dill, grilled vegetables, or the current limited edition pumpkin rosemary. You can find them in many supermarkets and drugstores like Rewe, Edeka, Kaufland, dm, and Rossmann.
I want to use different flour for the bread – what should I do?
I like to try new flour combinations with every bread I bake. Basically, all common flours work for this, although the "standard flour" wheat flour type 405 actually isn't optimal. It contains less gluten, which makes the dough less stable and the breads tend to become flat. Here's a small overview of bread flours that I've already used for this recipe:
Wheat flour (type 550, 1050, whole wheat) ➝ the higher the types, the more robust and aromatic the bread
Spelt flour (type 630, 1050, whole wheat) ➝ creates nutty, aromatic bread
Rye flour (type 1150, whole wheat) ➝ doesn't contain that much gluten on its own, which is why I always only use it in combination with wheat or spelt flour
Ancient grain flour like emmer ➝ isn't as stable, so always use it only in combination with the above flours and don't make it the main flour portion
Generally speaking: the higher the flour type (especially with whole wheat variants), the more liquid they absorb. In that case, you'll need to add a bit more water.
I don't have a cast iron pot – what should I do?
A cast iron pot is quite practical because the dough initially bakes covered in it. This way, the steam stays trapped and the bread gets a good crust. BUT you can also bake the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or put it in a loaf pan (though in that case, the bread will only get crispy on top and stay soft on the sides). In both cases, it's worth creating steam by filling a small baking dish with water and putting it in the oven. Additionally, you can pour a small cup of hot water onto the oven floor as soon as you slide the bread into the oven. Then quickly close the oven door. After about 15 minutes, take the water dish out again so the bread crust really gets crispy.
I don't have enough time to let the dough rest overnight – what should I do?
If you let the bread rest overnight in the refrigerator, the dough develops more flavor and becomes more stable. But that doesn't mean it won't work if you have less time for it. Alternatively, let the dough rise at room temperature for about 2 hours until the dough volume doubles. Then put it in the form and let it rest for another 30 minutes before baking.
No Knead Bread With Carrots and Walnuts
Ingredients
For the bread dough:
- 300 g (2.5 cups) spelt flour (type 630)
- 200 g (1.75 cups) rye flour (type 1150)
- 7 g (0.25 oz) active dry yeast
- 10 g (0.33 oz) salt
- 350 ml (1.5 cups) warm water
- 200 g (7 oz, approx. 2) carrots
- 100 g (3.5 oz) walnuts
For sprinkling:
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1 tsp light sesame seeds
- 1 tsp flax seeds
- 1 tsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 tsp sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp rolled oats
For serving:
- vegan spreads (e.g., from Tartex)
For the hazelnut gremolata:
- 10 g (0.33 oz) chopped roasted hazelnuts
- 20 g (0.66 oz) parsley
- 0.5 lemon zest
- 1 garlic clove
- salt
Instructions
Mix spelt flour, rye flour, active dry yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Coarsely grate the carrots and chop the walnuts. Add both to the bowl and combine with the flour mixture. Then add warm water and mix everything until no dry flour is visible.
Let the covered bowl rest in the refrigerator for 8–12 hours until the dough volume has doubled.
The next day, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Then take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a floured work surface. Clean the bowl and place a sheet of parchment paper in it. Fold each side of the dough once toward the center to create a more compact dough ball. Then turn the bread over so the top is now on the bottom and place the dough back in the bowl with parchment paper.
For the topping, mix sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and rolled oats and distribute on the bread, pressing lightly. Let the dough rise for about 1 more hour.
After the resting time, place a cast iron pot with lid on the bottom rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 230 °C / 450 °F (convection heat).
Carefully remove the hot pot from the oven and now place the bread along with the parchment paper into the hot pot. Trim the parchment paper if necessary so it doesn't stick out of the pot.
Put the lid back on the pot and bake the bread for about 30 minutes at 230 °C / 450 °F (convection heat). Then carefully remove the lid and bake the bread for another 15 minutes until it's well browned and crispy. Then remove from the oven and let cool before slicing.
