Instructions

1. Combine flour, water, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl. If you are following a recipe for no-knead bread, use the amounts called for in the recipe. If you using a traditional bread recipe, you will need to adjust the amounts of flour, water and yeast slightly. Use 1 part water to 1 1/2 parts flour to produce a wet dough. Use no more than 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in the dough.

2. Mix the dough with your hands or a wooden spoon for a few minutes, or until the dry ingredients are completely worked into the water. During the early part of the mixing process, gluten will start to develop, giving the dough its initial shape and texture, according to food writer Harold McGee in "On Food and Cooking." Because of the water content in the dough, it will be loose and very sticky after mixing.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest and rise at room temperature for at least two hours or up 18 hours. The long rest and rising period takes the place of kneading. The high amount of water in the dough allows glutenin and gliadin, the proteins that form gluten, the opportunity to bond on their own if given enough time.

4. Shape the dough as directed in the recipe, then let it rise again before baking. Bake as directed in the recipe.