ABOVE: No-knead bread. Check out the photo at the bottom of my post from my aunt Sue in Denver, apparently she’s an expert. I’ll have to manage to visit more often than once every ten years.
9/12/2009
So-called “no-knead bread,” has garnered something of a cult following since Jim Lahey of Sullivan St. Bakery (and now the pizzeria, Co.) teamed up with the Times’ Mark Bittman for an installment of his Minimalist column.
I jumped on the bandwagon a couple of years later, but this has become something of an obsession at times. The large, round loaf it yields is absolutely stunning. And ridiculously easy to bake (if you have a cast-iron Dutch oven). NOTE: If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you really need to get one. They are very versatile and indestructible. Money well spent.
I have written about this before and there are dozens of variations on the food blogs and message boards, but America’s Test Kitchen recently aired a recipe to correct some of the problems, specifically the lack of true bite and yeasty flavor of artisan breads. The recipe is essentially the same, but includes a little beer (a light lager) and a tablespoon of white vinegar.
FROM THE TEST KITCHEN:
3 cups all-purpose flower
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
7 ounces tap water (room temperature)
3 ounces beer
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix in the wet with a spatula. Cover. Let rise for 8 to 24 hours.
THE NEXT DAY:
Line a 10-12″ skillet with parchment sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. On a floured worksurface, knead the dough just a few times (10 times, or so). From the dough into a ball and place on the parchment and lightly cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for two more hours.
BAKING:
Pre-heat your oven to 500-degrees. About 30 minutes before you are going to bake the bread, place the Dutch oven (with lid) on the lowest rack. When it is time to bake, lift the dough ball (parchment and all) and place it in the Dutch oven. Cover and let bake for 30 minutes at 425-degrees. Remove the lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes until the loaf is deep brown in color.
That’s it.
–CP
P.S. The parchment trick is pretty clever. The last time I baked this bread without the parchment, when I plopped the dough into the Dutch oven, a fine cloud of corn meal blew back at me. Let me tell you, having cornmeal in your eyes is extremely unpleasant.
I am originally from Stamford, now living down South. I check the SA website periodically to find out what is going on in my old hometown. This is the first bread i have ever made, and it rivals some of the expensive artisan breads that are around. Thanks for the information.
Comment by GREAT BREAD! — January 1st, 2010 @ 9:30 am
Did you try to Test Kitchen version or the original recipe? I’m still undecided.
–CP
Comment by Chris Preovolos — January 4th, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
That is SOME BREAD! Thanks for the recommendation. Big payback on minimal effort.
I didn’t get enough lift out of the dough overnight, thanks to my drafty kitchen. I kept it in a warm place for most of the day today, which wasn’t enough.
But even without great loft, it was delicious! Definitely a keeper.
Comment by patty — January 9th, 2010 @ 5:47 pm
I tried the American Test Kitchen recipe. On the website they have recipies for No -knead wheat, rye, cranberry pecan and olive/rosemary breads that contain essentially the same ingredients + that seem just as easy. I plan on trying them at some point.
Comment by GREAT BREAD! — January 18th, 2010 @ 10:06 am