Easy at-home technique produces a terrific loaf with a chewy, delicious crust.
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The No-Knead Story
Nothing compares to fresh bread, straight from the oven, still warm and blooming. But home baking is a lot of time and trouble. A bread machine makes it easy and they make pretty good bread — but they can't make excellent bread, hearty and toothsome, with a strong, crackling crust. A really good crust requires a moist baking environment. That means fussing with hot water in the oven (which works, but not very well) or getting an expensive steaming gadget.
So I was intrigued when I saw glowing reports of an easy technique: Mix four ingredients, leave overnight, form a loaf, wait two hours, bake. No electric mixer and no kneading!
Developed by Jim Lahey, owner of Manhattan's Sullivan Street Bakery, the technique became public when food writer Mark Bittman reported on it last November in the New York Times. That article, "The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work," and recipe was one of the Times' most-emailed story for months. It's been cited and discussed in blogs and discussion groups all over the web. There is also a video (very good but note that it differs from the recipe's amounts and technique).
The techniques are not new — very wet loaf; long, very slow rise; baked in a very hot oven in a closed vessel — but this is the first time they have been pulled together in one at-home technique.
I have made it 10 times now and after some refinement, I am totally in love with this loaf!
It's very simple. You mix flour, water, a little salt, and just 1/4 teaspoon of yeast (a tiny amount compared to conventional recipes). Then you do my favorite thing: Nothing. Just leave it alone for 12-18 hours. No kneading — none! It will rise greatly to make big, spongey, wet dough ball. You turn the dough out onto a floured towel, shape it a bit, and let it rise two hours more. Toward the end of the second rise, you preheat a 3-5 quart lidded pot (Pyrex, iron, whatever) in a 450-degree oven. You dump the dough into the hot pot, bake covered for a while, remove the cover and bake some more for a total of about 45 minutes.
It's that easy. And it is that good.
Refinements
I started with the recipe from the Times but ultimately shifted to the recipe on Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Real Baking" blog. (If you don't know of Rose, she is one of the top authors in baking and her books, starting with the The Cake Bible, are deservedly award winners and best sellers.)
Changes from the Times' article were modest. They called for "3 cups" of flour but at my usual 4 ounces per cup, it was too wet. Rose calls for 16 ounces of flour which worked better for me (I now use 17). She also specifies Gold Medal's Harvest King flour, which is lower gluten that some bread flours. Harvest King is a sponsor of her site but she advises you can use half bread flour and half all-purpose instead. Not sure how important this is but it works for me.
My kitchen is cool (probably 65 degrees overnight), so I used a long rise and later, began using the oven (off but with the oven light on) to provide a warmer rise. The oven very slowly warms to 80-85 degrees. I then partly open the door, to keep the dough around 75-80. It's not very critical.
I mix up the ingredients in the evening (say, 9 or 10 PM) and it's ready to second-rise the following afternoon, in time to be baked for dinner.
I am thrilled to be able to make a real crackling crust at home with no kneading. Amazing.
Now, I had trouble for a while. My loaves were wet and gummy in the center. I was able to improve this with a longer and warmer second rise and more careful handling while shaping the dough. The biggest change was the pot: My 2-1/2 qt Pyrex baking vessel is too small. I now make a small-loaf recipe and it comes out fine. If I wanted larger loaves, I would use a 3-5 quart vessel as the recipe specifies.
To shape the dough, just fold gently in threes,
like a letter, turn 90 degrees and fold again. Gently pat to a nice
smooth ball and let it rise on a kitchen towel well-dusted with flour,
cornmeal, or wheat bran.
(Full-Size Loaf):
17 ounces Harvest King flour, or 8-1/2 ounces each of all-purpose and bread flour. If you don't have a scale, use 3 to 3-1/2 cups of flour. Start with 3-1/2 and see how it goes.
1-1/2 tsp table salt or 3 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp rapid-rise or instant yeast
12 ounces water (that's 1-1/2 cups).
(Small-Size Loaf):
8.25 ounces Harvest King flour, or 4.25 ounces each of all-purpose and bread flour. If you don't have a scale, use 1 to 1-1/2 cups of flour. Start with 1-1/2 and see how it goes.
3/4 tsp table salt or 1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp rapid-rise or instant yeast
6.7 ounces water (that's a bit over 3/4 cup).
Whisk together dry ingredients, then add the water and mix just enough to fully wet the flour. Dough will be dense and shaggy. Cover loosely and allow to rise 12-18 hours. Dough will be wet and spongy with lots of bubbles pitting the surface.
Place a silicone non-stick baking mat (e.g. Silpat) on a baking pan and coat very lightly with flour. If you have no silicone mat, you can coat a clean kitchen towel with flour, wheat bran, or corn meal.
Flour your hands or wear latex gloves. Turn dough onto towel or silicone mat. Handle gently, to avoid deflating the dough. Fold in thirds, as you would fold a letter. Turn 90 degrees and fold again. Turn it smooth side up and pat into a smooth ball. Flour the dough or use wheat bran so it won't stick. Loosely cover with a coarse-weave towel, making sure there is flour between the towel and the dough.
Let it rise until it's more than doubled — around 8 to 9 inches in diameter and 2-3 inches tall. If you poke it, it should not spring back easily. This should take 2 hours in a 70-degree room. I put mine in the oven with the overn turned off but with the light on, opening the door after an hour or so to maintain 75-80 degrees.
When you have a half hour to go, remove the dough from the oven, if that's where it's rising. Place your cooking vessel and lid in the oven and preheat to 450. I have used a covered 2-1/2 quart, Pyrex casserole for the small-loaf recipe. I presently use a 3-quart covered cast iron pot but have also used heavyweight stainless. For the full recipe, use a 3- to 5-quart dutch oven or covered pot.
Latex gloves are a good idea for this next step.
When the dough is ready and the oven is hot, brush any excess flour away and pick up the silicone mat, trying not to deflate the dough ball. Flip the dough ball into the pot. Careful, the pot is very hot! If the dough sticks to the towel a bit, no worries. Just scrape off the dough and add to the pot, then shake the pot a little to level. The top can look messy but it will bake up fine. In fact, is it's too smooth, I gash the surface with a sharp knife.
New addition: I tilt and shake the pot to make the dough roll a little. This shapes the loaf into a longer shape, rather than a round loaf.
Lid the pot and place it in the oven.
- Bake 20 minutes with lid on
- 20 minutes lid off until well browned
- 10 minutes with oven door open and turned off
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