Classic Sourdough No-Knead Bread

I lost my confidence with sourdough bread after the first try --- my new friend Diana says you have to have your mojo intact when tackling baking bread and I agree. Just lately I tried again.

I borrowed precious starter from Diana (thank you). I fed it and dashed around town trying to find a cast iron pot that didn't cost anarmandaleg, poured over recipe books and watched Youtube videos, to distill the instructions for no-knead sourdough bread and maintaining your starter.

By the way, Florin, the transilvanian baker, says that using a starter instead of store yeast is not sourdough --- it is levain. However, this recipe is for the "classic" sourdough with golden hard crust and chewy texture with lots of holes, which is obtained by the pot method of baking.

I had a very stressful two days, but it has been so worthwhile as I have now invented the easiest possible method.

To get the typical golden crust and chewy holey texture, you need a cast iron pot (5-quart size okay). They say you can use an enamel cast iron, Pyrex, or casserole as long as it has a lid, as well but be sure you can heat it to 500 degrees with nothing in it. I cracked an Emile Henry baking dish once trying to roast vegetables so I am leary. You can use the starter for regular no-knead bread and regular bread pans just substituting 1/4 starter for 1/4 tsp. yeast. The crust and texture won't be the "classic" sourdough though.

Here is the classic sourdough bread with all the wisdom and lore I gathered. This is the easy way --- no sponge or other intermediate steps.

Sourdough No-Knead Bread (1 1-1/2-lb. loaf)

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached flour with no additives (e.g. Rogers) (You can use 1 cup wholewheat and 2 cups unbleached flour)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup starter
1-1/2 cups bottled or purified water (let stand overnight or boil to get rid of the chlorine --- I forgot, and it worked okay)

Instructions:
Assuming you have a nice bubbly smelly starter in the frig (should be kept in a 1 quarter flip-top French jar, lid closed, but without the rubber jar ring), the night before, feed it with 1 cup flour and 1 cup purified water, stir with wooden spoon or chopstick. Again I forgot the purified water but it all worked. If there's too much starter, throw some out. The jar should only be 1/4 to 1/2 full to leave room for the starter to double or quadruple even.
Put the jar back in the frig overnight or, if baking within a few hours, leave it out on the counter. It should double within a few hours at room temperature.
In the morning or a few hours before baking, bring out the starter and bring it to room temperature. After feeding it, use it within one day or within a few hours if at room temperature.
Around lunch time or early afternoon, mix flour and salt in a large or medium sized bowl.
Stir the starter with chopstick to remove the bubbles. Measure out a generous 1/4 cup --- you can use a metal spoon and measuring cup. Mix water and starter in a 2-cup measuring cup or bowl.
Add the water mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with spoon until the flour is mostly mixed in. You will have a very wet mixture.
Cover with plastic wrap or put in a plastic bag and twist tight to prevent the dough from drying out.
Set aside to rise for a full 18 hours. It will eventually start to bubble and should more or less double, but don't fret about it as I did.
In the morning, put some wheat bran on the counter.
Oil a medium sized bowl.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl with a metal spoon and dump it on the wheat bran.
Oil or flour your hands and flatten out the dough.
Fold the dough four sides into the centre.
Put some wheat bran on the dough and cover with a clean cloth and let rest 15 minutes (I forgot this step but nothing went wrong)
Pick up the dough with floured or oiled hands and put it fold-side up into the oiled bowl.
Cover with a clean cloth.
Leave the bowl on the counter for 1-1/2 to 2 hours to rise again. Again it is supposed to double, but it's hard to tell. It is ready when the dough does not bounce back if you poke it with a finger about 1/4 inch into the dough, i.e. the hole stays in the dough.
1/2 hour before baking, heat the cast iron Dutch oven and lid in the stove at 500 degrees F.
When the dough is ready, open the oven, and using oven mitts, carefully take the pot out and set it on the oven door. Take the lid off.
Take off the mitts, take the dough out of the bowl with your hands and gently drop it into the hot pot. It doesn't matter how it lands, is lopsided, or doesn't fill the pot. Don't touch the pot and don't try to move or touch the dough.
Put the mitts on again and put the lid on the pot.
Put the pot into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Take the lid off the pot, turn the oven down to 450 degrees F, and bake another 15 minutes.
Using oven mitts, take the pot out of the oven and put it on top of the stove. Take the lid off and pry the loaf out of the pot (easy) and put it on a rack to cool.
Wait 1 hour to slice and eat.
Store out on the bread board cut side down or freeze in a ziploc bag.