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Christy

No-Knead Bread

Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:26 pm
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Comments: 1 Views: 39

This was my first attempt at "No-Knead Bread". I basically followed the original recipe as recited in the NY Times, except that I scaled it down a little bit because I was not sure if the full recipe would fit inside my little chicken fryer/dutch oven. Here is how I made the bread:

2+1/4 cup flour (mixture of bread flour and all-purpose)

1+1/8 cup water

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. instant yeast

 

Mixed all ingredients together in a bowl until they formed a dough. Covered the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit out for 12 hours at 75-76 degrees F. After 12 hours, I scraped the dough onto a floured Silpat and used the stretch & fold method 3 times to work the dough. Then recovered it with the plastic wrap and let it sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, I loosely shaped the dough into a ball, placed it seam-side down on the Silpat, sprinkled a little more flour on top and covered it with a cotton towl for 90 minutes. During the last 30 minutes of proofing, I placed a small 3-qt. dutch oven and lid into the oven and preheated it to 475 degrees F. When the oven was hot, I threw the dough into the dutch oven, put the lid on top, and placed it back into the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I removed the lid and let it brown in the oven for another 15 minutes. I took the pan out of the oven, let the bread cool on a cooling rack for 90 minutes.

Results:

The bread rose well in the oven, had a nice crust and an open crumb. However, the bottom of the bread was completely charred/burnt. Next time, I will lower the cooking temperature to 450 degrees and/or use an enameled pot instead of straight cast-iron. The flavor of the bread was relatively bland. This bread seems to be a good candidate for added flavorings such as part whole-wheat flour, whole grains, dried cranberries and walnuts, herbs and cheese, etc.

Summary: I would gladly make this bread again using a lower oven temp and some additional flavors. It is, for sure, the best bread I have ever made for such little time and effort.

 

Edited to add: I did attempt some additional versions of this bread. I made one loaf using 2 cups bread flour and 1/4 cup whole grain rye flour and another loaf using 2 cups bread flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour. Both versions were very tasty. I also lowered the oven temp down to 450 degrees F and had no more problems with a burnt bottom crust. 



Comments
Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:38 amThe crust and the crumb are beautiful! It's so interesting that you can get such a nice internal structure without any kneading. I have heard before about baking the bread in a hot cast iron pot, and it seems like a great alternative to a clay insert, and after a look at your golden crust I certainly have to try it out. I have a dough rising right now for French sourdough boules, which I was planning to bake like usual - however I think I might try this cast iron method. The loaf is truly gorgeous - I bet some rye or wheat, or a small amount of sourdough would be a great flavor addition.
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