Friday, March 14, 2008

No-knead bread

Ahh the infamous no-knead bread. I didn't ever plan on trying it until one day I stumbled upon the most beautiful bread ever on The Kittalog. She was showing a cheddar roasted red pepper bread. I was so pretty! Like I imagined seeing that kind of bread in some artisan bread shop or something. So right then and there I decided to make up a batch of no-knead bread.Then you let it rise.This will make a lot of bread! Just to let you know how much dough this actually is, this is a large bowl. No, this is the largest bowl I have in the whole house. I can fit like three of my heads in the grande sized bowl. So right then I decided that I have to try my hand at this bread. So I took a fourth of it and sprinkled some Parmesan on it and folded it, then shaped it, then sprinkled more cheese on it.It said that you only had to let it sit for like 40 min. But I though that that was insanity! I mean, like how can it rise with big holes in just 40 min!?? So me, being an insecure bread baker, let it rise for more, even though I probably didn't have to. Then I baked it up.This bread was quite yummy.A couple of nights later I baked up another loaf. This loaf was not quite as pretty, but was still good.I decided to leave this bread plain, and it turned out beautifully. All of these breads turned out very nicely, yet somehow I felt that they lacked the depth of flavor, or the texture of some of the other breads that I have baked in the Bread Bible. Don't get me wrong, this bread was great! I'm not really sure what it was, maybe it was just the fact that this bread was so easy! Dare I say it, too easy! For some odd reason, I like a good challenge, and this made my life too simple. lol. I will definitely be making this bread again, but I will continue to bake different breads from the Bread Bible also.

If you have never made bread before, this is another bread recipe that is perfect for you to try! It is so simple, and there is plenty of dough for you to experiment with through out the week!

I got the full recipe for the bread at Gardens by the lake.


No-knead bread

Gardens by the lake
Artisan Bread in five min a day



3 cups lukewarm water (about 100ยบ F)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt

6 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)

Cornmeal for the pizza peel.



In a 5-quart bowl, mix the yeast, water and salt. Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are uniformly moist. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.


2.Cover with a lid (not airtight). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.


3. After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or covered (non completely airtight) and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.


4. On baking day, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven. Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are best). Store the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.


5. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick.
Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. While shaping, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. Shaping the loaf this way should take no more than 1 minute.


6.Place the dough on the pizza peel. Allow the loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread may not rise much during this time.


7. Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F.


8. When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.


9.Slide the loaf off the peel and onto the baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door.


10.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.

20 comments:

Kitt said...

Yay! You made it! Looks great.

A couple of things: this bread definitely gets tastier the longer you let the dough sit in the fridge. On Day 1 it will be on the bland side, but by Day 10 there's a lot more going on. Since I make many small loaves, and a new batch of dough every few days, I've always got some dough ready that's had a chance to develop a little.

Also, you can bake this bread in a dutch oven or terrine like the original no-knead bread. I don't have a baking stone. Just let the cooking container heat up in a 450-degree oven (put it in there when you start the oven) and bake for about 15-20 minutes with the lid on, then 8 to 12 minutes with it off (depending on the size of the loaf). Comes out great!

Here are some of the loaves I've made.

Cakespy said...

Clearly I need (not knead) to make this! Looks fantastic and a little like carbohydrate heaven.

Anonymous said...

That looks very simple and easy. Thanks for sharing that recipe. I liked the one you said was not pretty. I think it loddked great!

Emily said...

I love no knead bread! This looks great!

Deborah said...

I was going to say what Kitt said - I have this cookbook and have made the bread a few times now - the longer the dough sits in the fridge the more I like it!! I usually half the recipe, and since there are only 2 of us, it takes us 1 - 2 weeks to go through all of the dough.

All of your shapes look great!!

mimi said...

i haven't tried no-knead bread yet but thanks for making it look so delish!

The Peanut Butter Boy said...

Nice and simple. Great quick bread. I'll try it with whole wheat and some gluten. Probably need more yeast but I'll make a small batch. Thanks!

- The Peanut Butter Boy

test it comm said...

Nice looking bread. I am really going to have to get around to trying this no-knead bread.

Anonymous said...

I saw all of Kitt's posts too and they're awesome and so is yours! I've gotta get my hands on this book!

Rachel@fairycakeheaven said...

ooo this sounds good, the perfect I can't be arsed baking but want fresh bread recip!!!! Bookmarked!!!

giz said...

Making bread was always a scary proposition - this looks so easy and pretty dangerous :)

Mary Coleman said...

Hey Jessy,
This looks wonderful. I have listed your blog in my favorite food blog list on my blog. You are rocking, honey. Keep up the excellent writing and hug Winnie and Bear for me.Groom wishes you well.
Mary Coleman

Gretchen Noelle said...

Jessy, these are lovely loaves of bread! I have two types of no-knead dough in my fridge right now. Great ideas you have here!

michael, claudia and sierra said...

rock on there girl!
very impressive...

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I have yet to give this bread a try...but it is on my list of things to do:D Your bread loaves Rock:D

Anonymous said...

Good job. Beautiful loaves with a nice crumb :)

Anonymous said...

Looks great! I think I'm going to try this recipe this week :)

Jade said...

The bread looks great (nice holes!)but I was interested to hear your thoughts on the flavor (lacking just a bit?). I'm still deciding whether to give it a try....

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Jade-It did not have that much flavor the first couple of days, but by the end of the week,it developed a much deeper flavor. I would definitely give it a try, especially since it is so easy!

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Alwayz crazy for brads.....yuuuummmmmmmyyyyyyyy will definitely try this.
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