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LOW-KNEAD BREAD (METAL BOWL METHOD)

Serves: 1 loaf Total Time: 3.5-7 days (25-30 min hands-on)

Timeline - plan ahead:

  • Day 1: Mix dough (5 minutes), stretch & fold every 15-20 minutes for 2-3 hours (4-5 times total)
  • Day 1 evening: Transfer to fridge for 3-5 days cold ferment
  • Day 4-6: Take out, let come to room temp (1-6 hours), shape, proof 2 hours, then bake (\~50 min)
  • Total hands-on time: About 25-30 minutes (mixing + folding + shaping)
  • Total elapsed time: 3.5 - 7 days

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Dry Ingredients:

  • 300g bread flour (chlebová mouka) OR all-purpose flour (hladká mouka) - Note: Recipe calls for bread flour (12-14% protein) but all-purpose (10-12% protein) works fine, gives softer, more tender crumb
  • 4g active dry yeast (sušené droždí) - about 1 teaspoon - Note: Original recipe uses 3g instant yeast (instantní droždí), but active dry needs 25% more
  • 4.5g table salt - about 3/4 teaspoon

Wet Ingredients:

  • 210g water (lukewarm, 35-40°C / 95-105°F)
  • Few drops vinegar or lemon juice (ocet nebo citronová šťáva) - OPTIONAL but helps gluten form stronger

Equipment Needed:

  • Large oven-safe metal mixing bowl (větší kovová mísa) - for initial mixing and final baking cover
  • Smaller oven-safe metal bowl (menší kovová mísa) - should fit inside the larger bowl, preferably taller/deeper, for proofing
  • Rimmed baking sheet / cookie sheet (plech na pečení)
  • Plastic wrap
  • Clean kitchen towel
  • Wire cooling rack
  • Instant-read thermometer
  • Gram scale (recommended)

INGREDIENT GLOSSARY

  • All-purpose flour \= hladká mouka / pšeničná hladká mouka (10-12% protein - softer, more tender crumb than bread flour)
  • Bread flour \= chlebová mouka / pekařská mouka (12-14% protein - not required, hladká mouka works fine)
  • Active dry yeast \= sušené droždí (larger granules than instant, needs 25% more than recipe's instant yeast)
  • Instant yeast \= instantní droždí (smaller granules, faster acting - original recipe calls for this)
  • Vinegar \= ocet (any kind works - white vinegar, apple cider vinegar)
  • Lemon juice \= citronová šťáva

INSTRUCTIONS

DAY 1 - MIX DOUGH (5 minutes):

  • Place large metal bowl on scale and zero it out
  • Add 300g (10.5 oz, about 2 cups) all-purpose flour (hladká mouka)
  • Zero scale again, add 4g (about 1 teaspoon) active dry yeast (sušené droždí)
  • Zero scale again, add 4.5g (about 3/4 teaspoon) table salt
  • Whisk dry ingredients together with your fingertips until evenly distributed
  • Zero scale again, add 210g (7.5 oz, about 1 cup minus 1.5 tablespoons) lukewarm water (35-40°C / 95-105°F)
  • OPTIONAL: Add few drops (2-3) vinegar or lemon juice - helps gluten form stronger, but Kenji forgot this in his video and bread still worked fine
  • Stir with your fingertips until dough comes together into one shaggy ball - no dry flour should remain, dough will be very sticky and rough-looking, this is correct
  • Take smaller metal bowl, invert it on top of dough to cover
  • Place something on top (like a baking sheet) to weigh it down slightly and create a seal
  • Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes

DAY 1 - STRETCH & FOLD (2-3 hours):

  • After first 15-20 minute rest, remove cover
  • Wet your hands with water (prevents sticking)
  • Reach under one side of the dough, stretch it up and fold it over itself
  • Rotate bowl slightly, repeat - stretch and fold
  • Work your way around the bowl doing this 4-6 times total until you've made a complete circle
  • The dough will look smoother and tighter after folding
  • Optional: Shape into a ball by tucking edges underneath (not required, just makes it look nice)
  • Cover again with inverted bowl
  • Repeat this stretch & fold process every 15-20 minutes for the next 2-3 hours (4-5 times total)
  • What you'll notice: Each time you do this, the dough becomes stretchier, more supple, smoother, and stronger - that's the gluten developing
  • After final stretch & fold (dough should look smooth and elastic), cover and proceed to cold ferment

DAY 1 EVENING - COLD FERMENT:

  • After final stretch & fold, keep dough covered in large metal bowl
  • Transfer entire covered bowl to refrigerator
  • Let sit for at least 3 days and up to 5 days - this develops complex flavor, you can bake anytime in this window

BAKING DAY - PART 1: BRING TO ROOM TEMP (1-6 hours before shaping):

  • Remove covered bowl from refrigerator
  • Let sit on countertop for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours - dough needs to come to room temperature before shaping
  • The longer it sits, the more active the yeast becomes - anywhere in this range works fine

BAKING DAY - PART 2: SHAPE & PROOF (2 hours before baking):

  • Take your clean kitchen towel and coat it generously with flour
  • Press floured towel into smaller metal bowl, floured side up, leaving excess towel draped over edges
  • Generously flour your work surface
  • Wet your hands, reach under dough in large bowl
  • Gently pull dough and do one final gentle stretch and fold to gather it together
  • Turn dough out onto floured work surface - it will be very soft, sticky, and stretchy
  • Dust top of dough with more flour
  • Pinch all the edges together on one side to create a seam
  • Flip dough over so smooth side is up, seam side down
  • Using sides of your hands (not picking it up), gently tuck and rotate the dough to create a smooth, tight skin on top - this should only take 30-45 seconds, don't overhandle
  • The smooth top will be your "presentation side," the pinched seam side goes in the bowl
  • Pick up dough and place it in the floured towel-lined smaller bowl with seam side down (smooth side up)
  • Place your rimmed baking sheet on top of the bowl to cover
  • Let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours - dough should roughly double in volume and fill most of the bowl

BAKING DAY - PART 3: PREHEAT (30-45 minutes before baking):

  • Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position
  • Set oven to horní + dolní ohřev (top + bottom heating, NOT convection/horkovzduch)
  • Preheat oven to 260°C (500°F) - let preheat for at least 30 minutes

BAKING DAY - PART 4: PREPARE TO BAKE:

  • When dough has proofed (about 2 hours) and oven is preheated, prepare for baking
  • Take your large metal bowl (the one you mixed in), add a little water, swirl it around, dump it out - you just want the inside lightly wet, not dripping
  • Remove baking sheet from top of proofed dough
  • Place the baking sheet directly on top of the bowl with the dough
  • Holding both bowl and sheet together, flip the entire thing over - now dough is on the sheet, smooth side up
  • Remove the bowl and peel off the kitchen towel - the dough is now sitting seam-side up on the sheet (the seams will split naturally during baking for a rustic look)

BAKING DAY - PART 5: BAKE:

  • Immediately when bread goes in oven, reduce temperature to 230°C (450°F) - this prevents bottom from burning
  • Working quickly, place sheet with dough on oven rack in lower-middle position
  • Take the large wet metal bowl and immediately invert it over the dough on the sheet - this traps steam
  • Close oven door
  • Bake covered for 20 minutes at 230°C (450°F)
  • After 20 minutes, carefully remove the large metal bowl using oven mitts - bowl will be extremely hot
  • Dough should have "sprung" - risen and puffed up, starting to split along seams, looking glossy and shiny
  • Continue baking uncovered for another 15-20 minutes at 230°C (450°F) until deep golden brown
  • Internal temperature should register 98°C (209°F) on instant-read thermometer

COOLING & STORING:

  • Remove baking sheet from oven
  • Use a spatula to lift bread onto a wire cooling rack
  • LISTEN: You should hear the crust crackling as it cools - that's the sound of good bread
  • Let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing - cutting too early makes the interior gummy
  • For best texture, wait until completely cool (but fresh warm bread is irresistible, so do what you want)
  • Store unused bread wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 3 days
  • To refresh stale bread: heat in 180°C (350°F) oven for 5 minutes to crisp the crust
  • Freezing: Slice bread first, then freeze - you can toast slices directly from frozen

NOTES

Why this method works:

  • Long fermentation (3-5 days cold) develops complex flavor without kneading
  • Stretch & fold technique builds gluten structure with minimal effort
  • Metal bowl method traps steam (like a Dutch oven) but much safer - no handling hot cast iron, no risk of burning yourself
  • Steam keeps the crust supple during first 20 minutes, allowing maximum "oven spring" (rise)
  • Uncovering for final 15-20 minutes creates crispy, crackly crust

Yeast note: Recipe originally calls for 3g instant yeast. We adjusted to 4g active dry yeast (sušené droždí) since that's what you have - active dry needs 25% more

Salt note: 4.5g by weight - kosher salt \= table salt for weight measurements, no conversion needed

Flour note: Recipe calls for bread flour (12-14% protein) but works perfectly fine with all-purpose flour / hladká mouka (10-12% protein) - you'll get a slightly softer, more tender crumb instead of super chewy texture. Both use regular wheat (pšenice - Triticum aestivum)

Vinegar note: Optional but recommended - just 2-3 drops helps gluten form stronger. Kenji forgot it in his video and bread still worked great, so don't stress if you skip it

Temperature note: Original recipe uses 500°F → 450°F. Converted: preheat to 260°C, immediately drop to 230°C when bread goes in. Use conventional heating (horní + dolní ohřev), NOT convection

Scaling: This recipe scales easily using ratio: 100 parts flour : 1.5 parts salt : 1 part yeast : 70 parts water (by weight)

Flexibility: This recipe is very forgiving - even if you get interrupted, forget about it for a few extra hours, or need to adjust timing, it will still work. The long cold fermentation gives you a 3-5 day window to bake whenever convenient

Metal bowl requirements:

  • Large bowl: Should be big enough to cover your loaf on the baking sheet (roughly 25-30cm diameter)
  • Small bowl: Should fit inside the large bowl, preferably taller/deeper shape for better proofing (roughly 20-25cm diameter)
  • Both must be oven-safe metal (stainless steel is ideal, avoid bowls with plastic or rubber parts)