I’ve got out of the habit of making my sourdough bread but I’ve recently discovered a really easy bread recipe that doesn’t require any kneading. This is a simpler version of a Nancy Birtwhistle recipe from her book ‘Green living made easy.’

I’ve had mixed success with home made bread in the past – so often my loaves were stodgy and dense. But with this recipe my bread is much lighter and with big holes, which I really like. It also has the most amazing crust and slightly nutty flavour (because of the sesame oil coating the casserole dish).

The magic ingredient here is potato water. Save the water from boiling potatoes (which haven’t had salt added – that’s very important). Turns out yeast loves potato starch – it helps the loaf rise. But you can still make this bread with ordinary tap water.

The main effort with this recipe is the planning. Ideally you need to mix up the ingredients and leave the dough for about 8-24 hours.

If you haven’t heard of Nancy Birtwhistle do check out her Instagram @nancy.birtwhistle. She is a Great British Bake Off winner and her Instagram is not only full of great bakes but also useful household tips.

Ingredients

• 300g strong white bread flour
• 3g dried yeast
• 300ml cold potato water (or plain tap water)
• 1 tsp sesame oil (gives the loaf a subtle nutty flavour but not absolutely essential)
• 1 tsp salt

You will also need:

• A casserole dish with lid (I use an old Le Creuset)
• A circle of parchment paper to line the casserole dish
• A roomy mixing bowl
• A spatula or plastic bench scraper
• Trivet or mat to protect your work surface

Method

1. Put all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over the water and stir just enough so that everything is well combined.
2. Put a plate or tea towel over the bowl and leave for 8 to 24 hours.
3. Splash the sesame oil in the casserole and use your hands or a brush to coat well inside.
4. Lay the parchment paper at the bottom and put on the lid. Place the cold casserole dish in the oven and set to 250C. Leave to heat up for about 15/20 minutes.
5. Using the spatula, ease the dough from the side of the bowl. Sprinkle a small handful of flour on the work surface and pour on the dough.
6. Remove the casserole from the oven and place on a protective mat or trivet on your work surface. Remove the lid.
7. Using the spatula and a large spoon or dough scraper, transfer the dough to the casserole in one go – it will be sticky so don’t try and shape it – just plop it in. Add the lid and put in the oven for 35 minutes.
8. Take out of the oven and remove the lid and put back in the oven for 5 minutes to brown.
9. Remove the casserole from the oven. Carefully tilt it on one side and the bread will pop out. Cool on a rack or plate and let it go completely cold before slicing.

You can vary the recipe by swapping out 100g of the white flour for wholemeal bread flour. I’ve also made it with 300g of wholemeal flour and it worked well. Nancy Birtwhistle adds seeds and porridge oats to the recipe which I have also tried.