Overnight Bread that Doesn’t Loaf Around

Overnight Bread

An interesting recipe for bread dough, which sits overnight and is baked the next day, has been floating around the Internet. I thought I’d tweak it a little first to make a more traditional loaf-type bread. I was afraid the lack of sugar (to feed the yeast) and oil (to help the gluten stretch ) would make the finished loaf  too crisp. 

Here’s my version which bakes in a lot less time than the original. The turned-out dough was very tender, and it baked into a very fragrant loaf. It tasted great with my Four Fruit Freezer Jam!

OVERNIGHT BREAD

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon Instant or Rapid-rise yeast

scant ¼ cup sugar

1/4 cup dry milk OR 2 Tbs buttermilk powder

1 1/2 cups water

¼ cup oil

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, dry milk/buttermilk powder and yeast. Add water and oil with a spoon, mixing until well incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 – 18 hours (or overnight).

Sprinkle top of dough with 1/4 cup flour and turn out on floured surface. Flatten and knead until smooth, adding flour as needed. Shape loaf to fit greased (or sprayed) 9X5X3 inch-loaf pan or shape in a round loaf on a cookie sheet. 

Cover with plastic and kitchen towel and let rise for an hour. Bake in 400º oven for 25 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on rack.

Makes one loaf.

Filed under: Baking, Food, Photos, Recipes Tagged: bread, bread recipe, flour, overnight bread, yeast