This simple no knead bread yields one loaf of soft sandwich bread.

This bread recipe is so easy and delicious I make it at least once a week. A hosting favorite: this bread is the perfect pairing for my original Caramelized Onion Whipped Butter. From the first stir of ingredients to taking it out of the oven, this recipe takes a little over 2.5 hours in total. With just 5 simple ingredients, it is reminiscent of the “pão de agua” or “water bread” of my Portuguese childhood.

Gather:

4 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour (I use Einkorn flour or Neopolitan Tipo 00 flour when possible)

2 teaspoons salt (I use Trader Joe’s Portuguese Flor de Sal)

2 teaspoons sugar (I use natural cane sugar)

2 + 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (equivalent of one standard packet)

2 cups warm water

Prepare:

1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. You will be using this bowl for your first rise so be sure it has space for the dough to “grow.”
2. Add the warm water and stir with a wooden spoon until dry ingredients are hydrated. A sticky dough should quickly form.
3. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and leave to rise. I usually let mine rise between 1 hour + 15 minutes to 1 hour + 30 minutes depending on how much time I have. The dough should double during this rise.
4. Using a fork, pull the dough from the sides of the bowl into the center, folding the outside to the center. Do this a few times until the dough is loosened from the bowl. This will cause the dough to deflate so don’t panic if it “shrinks” a little.
5. Generously butter a loaf pan. This will keep the bread from sticking. Transfer the dough from the bowl to the loaf pan.
6. Leave to rise, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Depending how long it takes your oven to preheat, you want to get it started during this rise. Preheat the oven to 425.
7. When the bread has completed the second rise and the oven is at 475, place the pan into the oven for 17 minutes. After the 17 minutes have passed, turn the oven down to 375 for 15 more minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and turn bread out immediately. Butter the top of the loaf and crust if desired. Let cool for at least an hour before attempting to cut.

Original recipe from Alexandria Cooks.