Best Bread Ever

I am writing today about No-Knead Bread. I may be coming late to this party, though I have been making this bread for 7 years now. 

The first time I ever heard of No-Knead Bread, was at the Farmers' Market here in town, in 2011. It is a small affair, as we are a small town, but there are interesting things going on here, nonetheless. I saw a lady with a basket of bread that looked to be artisanal in style, with a nice crusty exterior, and promising to be nicely full of holes inside. The sign on her basket read, "No-Knead Bread." I asked what that was, and she gave me a sketchy account, advising that I look it up online. I bought a loaf.

No Knead Bread

Once I tasted the loaf, I went online immediately. The first thing I came upon was a recipe from "The Minimalist," written by Mark Bittman in 2006, about the bread made famous (then why am I only NOW finding out about it!?!?) by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery. I tried the bread recipe cited by Bittman immediately. Well, as immediately as I could get my hands on an enameled cast iron pot. I found out the hard way that the knob or handle on the lid must be metal, to stand the high oven temperatures. When I borrowed my sister-in-law's 4 quart Le Creuset, with a resin knob on the lid, it exploded in the oven!

Script "L" as Lid Handle

The bread came out great, but I went in search of an enameled cast iron pot of my own, making sure it had a metal handle on the lid. It was a signature series Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven, with the handle made into a script shaped letter "L". This pot has been used so much and so often that the insides are completely blackened, never to be white again, but it keeps on working just fine, no matter what gets cooked inside! Supposedly, you can use Pyrex or other oven safe pots, and also clay pots. I do not own a clay baker and am afraid to subject any glassware to the intensely high heat in the oven needed for this bread. 

Meanwhile, I also bought Jim Lahey's book, "My Bread." I wanted to know everything I could find out about it. When it comes down to it though, I just love the plain, original No-Knead Bread best of all. I made the loaf with cheese chunks in it. I made a loaf with bacon in it. I made a loaf using Guinness Stout and buttermilk. Another with Walnuts. All great. I just liked the original best, and have made it more times than I can count.

What, Exactly, is No-Knead Bread?

Over the course of many years, I have learned over and over that flour, in and of itself, is rather bland and tasteless. Witness the plain white bread in the grocery store. What gives flavor to white or whole wheat flour alike is time, and some form of fermentation, whether warm, cold or a combination. This process also unlocks some hard to digest goodness from the grain. Sourdough bread has been famous forever, and the particular flavors from sourdough starters comes from long, slow fermenting. If you don't care for sourdough bread (my husband is not fond of it), just understand that rather than keeping a starter going for years, decades or more, No-Knead Bread only ferments (in the main) for 12 to 18 hours, or overnight. This is enough to get the dough going, fermentation underway, and then it is shaped and baked. The goodness in the flour is unlocked, and the bread is just fantastic.

Rough dough in PM then Risen and bubbly in the AM

The key to this bread is in the process. A rough and shaggy dough is mixed up the night before you plan to make the bread. A quick stir to get all the ingredients dampened is all you need do. Cover and set in a place at least 70 degrees, but not more than about 75, and let the magic happen. What occurs is that the tiny ¼-teaspoon of yeast that is added to give the fermentation a kick-start, takes over on its own, and in the morning, after about 12 -18 hours, you will see a very jiggly-wet dough that oozes to one side or other of the bowl when tilted, and a whole lot of bubbles dotting the surface. In this way, you have the time and fermentation that has taken place and flavors are developed. The next step is setting the dough to rise and then baking it.

No Knead Bread

The reason the enameled cast iron pot works so well is first of all its weight. The nice, thick, heavy pot holds heat. This kind of heat mimics the heat in the kinds of ovens used in bakeries, and the method we sometimes try to copy by spraying water into the oven or setting ice cubes in a container on the oven floor. The risen dough is flipped into the screaming hot pot, the lid replaced, trapping steam from this very wet dough. The steam makes that nice crisp-chewy exterior, and the heat expands the loaf into beautiful inner holes. 

The Process

As shown in the photo above, the dough is mixed in the evening around 7 or 8 PM (if it is terribly cold outside, it may need to start around 6 PM or even earlier, in order to rise enough by morning), then in the morning will have risen and be evenly dotted with bubbles and be very jiggly.

When ready in the morning, you will need a clean surface on which to work, sprinkled liberally with flour. The dough is very wet and needs quick and light handling. 

1. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, then toss quickly together to coat. Sprinkle with more flour and cover for 15 minutes with plastic wrap or a clean flour sack towel (any smooth towel, not terrycloth!). 
2. In this time period, have ready a baking sheet with a flour sack towel or clean, smooth kitchen towel placed on it. Liberally sprinkle an area about 12-inches in diameter with cornmeal or wheat bran. Once the 15 minutes have passed,  quickly toss the dough into a ball shape and set with the seam tucked underneath onto the center of the cornmeal or bran strewn towel.
3. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more cornmeal or bran, then cover with another clean, smooth towel - or, if using a flour sack towel, which tend to be large, put the dough onto one end, then flip the other end of the towel over top.
4. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
5. Thirty minutes before the 2 hours are elapsed, place your enameled cast iron pot with lid on, into the oven, then set the oven to pre-heat to 475 degrees for the remaining half-hour of rising time.
6. Once the half hour is elapsed, remove the pot from the oven, being exceedingly careful, as it is screaming hot! Remove the lid and set aside. Immediately, lift the cover back from the risen dough. Slide your hand underneath the cloth to support the dough, then lift and invert the dough (bottom side upwards) into the hot pot. Quickly replace the lid.
7. Place the pot back into the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. 
8. At thirty minutes, remove the lid and bake the bread uncovered for another 8 to twenty minutes.
9. Use a wide spatula to lift the bread out of the exceedingly hot pot and set on a rack to cool. 
10. Listen to the bread "sing." It will pop, crack, whistle and otherwise make lovely sounds as it cools. 

The entire process of mixing the dough, working with it briefly in the morning and getting into pot to bake takes about 15 minutes in its entirety. It is needful to be there in the morning, while the dough is rising and baking, but without any more hands-on time. 

Things I Have Learned Over Time

• When mixing the dough, the recipe calls for 1½ to 1⅝ (or 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons) cups of cool water. Understand, the wetter the dough, the more hole structure will form in the finished bread. If you live in a very humid environment, your flour may already be retaining some humidity, and you may not need the extra two tablespoons of water. Making this bread in South Dakota, where it is far less humid than, say, Florida or Louisiana, I have needed the extra two tablespoons of water every time. The bread is great no matter which way. Just experiment to see how much water works best for you.

• I use a baking sheet to set the towel on for the rising period. This is never stated in the original recipe, but if you have a smaller kitchen, this allows you to move the bread out of your way if you need to work in that space. I cannot begin to state how this has helped me in past!

• Jim Lahey's recipe does not call for a 15 minute rest period before shaping the loaf and setting onto the cornmeal strewn cloth. Mark Bittman's recipe did. I have done it both ways, many times, and I will say that for whatever reason, the 15 minute rest makes the bread grow higher in the end.

• Jim Lahey has the oven set to 500 degrees. For me this is just too hot. I do not care for blackened loaves, though most of the photos in Lahey's book are at least slightly blackened. My husband will not touch a blackened loaf. I use a 475 degree oven.

• Lahey has the initial bake with lid on the pot for 30 minutes, but once the lid is taken off, he says to bake a further 15 to 30 minutes. I tried once to bake a further 15 minutes, and it was already starting to blacken in spots, so I removed it. After that, I have ALWAYS baked for only 8 further minutes. This is entirely subjective!

No-Knead Bread

No Knead Bread, just baked

Makes one loaf

3 cups bread flour
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1½ to 1⅝ (just 2 TBSP more) cups cool water
Cornmeal, wheat bran and or flour for dusting

The evening before making the bread, place the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and using a wooden spoon, stir to a shaggy dough,  just moistening all the dry ingredients. Cover the bowl with plastic film, or a plate or a lid and set in a warm (not hot) place to ferment overnight.

After 12 to 18 hours (or even up to 24 if it is very cold), the dough should have risen, having bubbles dot the entire surface and the dough should be very jiggly upon moving the bowl. (See photos above).

Dust a clean surface with plenty of flour, then scrape the dough out onto the floured surface, as shown in the first photo below. Quickly bring up edges and then sprinkle with more flour if needed, covering the dough, allowing it to rest for a further 15 minutes, shown in photo 2. While the rest period is underway, place a clean, smooth towel, such as a flour sack towel (NO terrycloth) onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle the towel with cornmeal or wheat bran to a diameter of about 12-inches. Once the rest period ends, quickly form the dough into a ball, tucking the seams underneath, and place onto the prepared towel, shown in photo three below. The seams underneath will later form the pretty cracked pattern on top of the finished loaf.

The process of preparing and baking the loaf

Sprinkle the formed loaf with more cornmeal or bran if needed, then cover with another clean, smooth towel, shown in photo 4, above. Set aside to rise for 2 hours.

Thirty minutes prior to the two-hour rise period, place an enameled cast iron pot, with lid, into the oven. Set the oven to 475 degrees and time for 30 minutes. This is to get the pot screaming hot, approximating a bakery oven. Once the half hour is elapsed, carefully remove the pot from the oven, setting the lid aside, photo 6 above. Uncover the loaf, then slide a hand underneath the towel, supporting the loaf. In one quick movement, lift and invert the loaf into the hot pot. If it sticks to the side, give the pot a shake. It won't matter, in the end, see photo 7 above. Cover the pot with its lid, then return to the oven for 30 minutes. After the thirty minutes, remove the lid, leaving the bread to bake for at least a further 8 minutes and up to 30 minutes, if desired.

Once finished, remove the pot from the oven, then using a large spatula, lift the loaf out of the pot and onto a rack to cool. Allow the loaf to cool for at least an hour before cutting.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Caraway Rye Bread; a Favorite

I love bread. I guess too much of anything is not great, but it is difficult to live without bread. When I started delving into the concept of Gluten Free baking, what I read everywhere is the lament about good bread being a scarce commodity on that kind of diet. I did find lots and lots of recipes for gluten-free breads. I was just afraid to try them out. My best and longest friend decided to go gluten-free long ago and told me how, despite that she is an excellent baker, her GF breads came out like bricks.

Well, being me, and having been making bread for over 40 years, this seemed like a challenge. I tried a recipe from Gluten Free Girl's website, going on the concept of a no-knead bread, and while it made two exceptionally tiny loaves, the bread was just to-die-for good. Ever since, I have been meaning to go back and try some others, just so I can say I CAN do it, but so far other things have gotten in the way.

Three loaves of Caraway Rye Bread

Meanwhile, I still make all our bread in the house. Regular bread with wheat flours, of course. To my knowledge I am not gluten intolerant, so it has not been a priority. When I discovered Mark Bittman's adaptation of Jim Lahey's No-Knead bread recipe, I totally fell in love. I have been making that bread nearly constantly for almost 2 years now (hard to believe). In a recent blog post I talked about the different variations I have tried of this bread, but mainly I just love the plain no-knead bread. It is marvelous. Why mess with such a great thing?

However, despite how  much I love that bread, I still make my Mom and Grandma's rich egg bread that was made only for Easter and other holidays. I loved that bread so much when growing up that I began making it at age 21 and continued on through my whole life. Almost 42 years later I still make it as our daily bread. The other breads are just extras. One of those extras is Caraway Rye bread, which I love. I have tried various recipes, and have distilled down the things I like best about them all. I made it yesterday again, though it has been a few years since I made it last. This time I was curious whether it could be baked in the enameled cast iron pot I use for my No-Knead bread. The recipe can make two large loaves or 3 slightly smaller ones. I decided to go with the three, and make one of them in the enameled cast iron pot.

Caraway Rye Bread made in the enameled cast iron pot

Making it in there worked like a charm, and I wish I had divided the dough into only 2 loaves to work with, but that's hindsight. Meanwhile, that is one gorgeous loaf of bread. Not that the others are anything to sneeze at, mind you. I made the other two in long narrow loaves and placed them on a parchment and cornmeal lined baking sheet. They are lovely. The crust is soft though, where the one from the pot turned out crusty. It doesn't stay crusty, if the bread is stored in plastic, but it does stay chewy, and I think that is one of my biggest cravings - chewy things. Chewy, gooey caramels. Really chewy bagels. Ice cream with chewy, gooey bits in it. Cinnamon buns with thick gooey caramel. You get the picture, I am sure. I think I may have to invest in a second enameled cast iron pot to keep up with this bread making thing I have going. But if you love bread, give this recipe a try. Add or leave out things as desired. Use more or less caraway, or none. Use dill or dill seed, if desired. The bread is delicious.

Caraway Rye Bread

Caraway Rye Bread

Makes 2 or 3 loaves

SPONGE:
2½ teaspoons (1 packet) instant/quick-rise yeast
3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 cup medium rye flour
2 cups warm water, 110 degrees
1 cup bread flour
½ cup Sir Lancelot high-protein flour (or all bread flour)

DOUGH:
½ cup medium rye flour
½ cup dry milk powder
3 heaping teaspoons caraway seeds, or to taste
2½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons Rye Bread Enhancer, optional
3 tablespoons cooking oil (olive, canola, walnut, other)
2 - 2½ cups Sir Lancelot high-protein flour, or bread flour

MAKE SPONGE: If using the instant yeast and high-protein flour, use the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Otherwise, use a large plastic or glass bowl. Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Add in the brown sugar, rye flour, instant yeast and flour(s). With whisk attachment or regular whisk, combine ingredients well. Allow the sponge to rest for at least an hour. If using regular yeast and just bread flour, this mixture may be allowed to rest for 4 hours or up to overnight.

MAKING DOUGH: In a small bowl, combine the medium rye flour, dry milk powder, caraway seed, salt and Rye Bread Enhancer, if using. Stir well to combine these dry ingredients, then add to the sponge, along with the oil of choice. With dough hook or wooden spoon if by hand, combine these ingredients well, then begin kneading in the Sir Lancelot high-protein flour, or bread flour, ½ cup at a time. until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Remove dough hook and allow dough to rest for about 1 hour (2 - 2½ hours if using regular dry yeast), or until doubled in bulk.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 2 or 3 portions. Form into loaves of your choosing. These can be long loaves, round loaves, braided or placed into loaf pans, as desired. If making long or round loaves, place parchment onto a large baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cornmeal. If making in loaf pans, spray with cooking spray. Allow loaves to rise until doubled in bulk.

This bread may also be made in a heavy enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Unless you have two of these Dutch ovens, the loaves will have to be made sequentially. To prepare the dough, make a tight round loaf and place onto a towel (not terrycloth) strewn with cornmeal. Cover with another towel and allow to rise.

To bake loaves on baking sheet or in loaf pans, Preheat oven to 450 and bake the loaves for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350 and bake for a further 5 or more minutes, until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If baking in the Dutch oven, preheat the pot in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove pot from oven, remove lid and set aside. Place hand under the towel holding the bread and quickly invert the loaf into the extremely hot pot. Replace lid and place in oven. Time for 20 minutes. Depending on how dark you like your crust, remove the lid and bake for a further 5 or more minutes.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

No-Knead Bread: Almost too Good to be True

No-Knead Bread, fresh from oven

The original No Knead Bread was started by Jim Lahey. Jim learned bread baking in Italy in the 1990s but developed the no knead process much later. In 2006, Mark Bittman of the New York Times was invited to witness the ease of making this bread at Lahey's Sullivan Street Bakery. The rest is history.

This history was all new to me in the summer of 2011. I went to the local farmers market and bought a loaf of what was called Mark Bittman's No Knead Bread. I love artisanal breads, with the crusty exteriors and plenty of chewiness on the inside. I did know of Mark Bittman, having watched "On the Road Again, in Spain" starring Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Bittman and Claudia Basols. I was curious. I bought the loaf and brought it home, tasted it and fell in love at first bite! I looked online to see if I could find this recipe and saw that it was available everywhere. I did not find out the recipe was from Jim Lahey until much later. 

Recipe Comparisons

Mark Bittman's recipe differs from Lahey's in some slight nuances. I have used the recipes both ways and can say that I prefer the Bittman version, at least in my home oven. Lahey adds less water and uses a 500 degree oven. Bittman uses a trifle more water and a 450 degree oven. The matter of water is a choice. With 2 tablespoons more water, the result is an interior with far larger holes. Using less water means the interior grain of the bread comes out more uniform.  The bread is still plenty chewy made either way and the oven temperature and time are easily adapted. Both recipes say that once the lid is removed, to bake for an additional 15 to 30 minutes. I do not like blackened crusts, so I stuck to the 450 degrees and only 8 - 10 minutes once the lid is removed.

My Experiences with No Knead Breads

Jim's Brown Bread

I made Mark Bittman's version of the bread for over a year, sometimes 3 times a week, when guests were around. I then got curious and went to the local library. I checked out the book "My Bread" by Jim Lahey and discovered another new world of bread flavors. To the same basic No-Knead recipe, Lahey added things for flavor. I made a few of these breads and all were marvelous. One had the addition of walnuts and raisins and was just delightful. One was called "Jim's Brown Bread" and was a take on Irish bread, using Guinness Stout and buttermilk in the dough. Another recipe had ½ pound of cubed cheese added in. Yet another had chunks of fried bacon added. Every recipe was just delicious. The bacon bread was nearly a sandwich all by itself.

Cheese No-Knead Bread, using Fontinella cheese

If you have not jumped onto this bandwagon yet, I urge everyone to try. The one requirement is a very heavy duty pot that will withstand oven temperatures of 450 to 500 degrees. This means an enameled cast iron pot, a clay baker with a lid, or a Pyrex glass baker with lid. The size must accommodate 6 to 8 quarts in order to contain the bread as it bakes. The handle on the lid of the enameled cast iron pots should be metal. The reason for this type of lidded pot is so that steam from the very wet dough is trapped inside. I did not own an enameled cast iron pot when I decided to try this bread, so I borrowed one from my sister-in-law. It had a resin knob on the lid. Twenty minutes into the baking process, I heard a very loud clang. It was the knob that had exploded! Those kind of knobs are oven safe to only 400 degrees. If you have a resin knob on your enameled cast iron, invest in a new metal knob as a replacement before starting.

Bacon Bread

The bane of any home baker when trying to create that artisanal crusty exterior is the inability to trap enough steam to accomplish that end. When the dough is inside a small, closed environment, and in high temperatures, the enclosed pot traps the steam needed for the perfect crust, right from the dough itself. When removed from the oven, the bread literally "sings". The bread snaps, pops, wheezes and makes many interesting sounds as it cools and is a delight to hear. Jim Lahey in his book mentions the  amazing sounds when at his bakery they have taken many multiples of loaves out of a very hot oven.

The recipe is found all over the internet, and my favorite method is the one by Mark Bittman. He has now come out with some more interesting nuances on making this bread, but I have the time at home to work with it, so I am not looking to make this a shorter process. In fact the entire process, which takes about 16 to 18 hours, requires a total of about 15 minutes of actual attention. Mix up the 4 ingredients the night before (takes about 3 minutes), cover and let it do its thing overnight while you sleep. Turn out onto a surface in the morning (takes about 10 seconds) cover and let stand for 15 minutes while you prepare breakfast. Form into a loaf and set to rise (takes about 1 minute). One and a half hours later, place the empty pot in the oven to heat for a half hour (takes about 10 seconds). Take out the pot, toss in the risen dough, put the lid back on and bake (takes less than 1 minute) for 30 minutes with lid, then another 10 to 30 minutes without the lid, depending on your preference. In between, you can accomplish a host of other household activities. Try out this recipe, because it does not disappoint.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Green Peas and Pomegranate Arils

I mentioned the other day that I made a green pea appetizer spread. Oh man, it is so good. I baked a new batch of No-Knead bread just for that. The recipe came from Michael Symon, on The Chew, but I changed it a bit. The ingredients are there, but the amounts are different. As with most recipes, you try something and add a little of this or that. Whatever tastes good. This is the recipe as I made it. It's naturally gluten-free, too.

Green Pea, Feta and Mint Spread

Green Pea, Feta and Mint Spread

1 cup frozen sweet green peas, thawed
3/4 cup feta cheese
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more, as needed
salt and pepper

Thaw the peas under running water. Place them in a food processor with all ingredients except the salt and pepper. Process until well mixed, but still a little chunky. Check to see if salt is needed; the feta cheese might be salty. I put in 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt without tasting and it was too salty, so check first. Add in pepper as desired and process briefly to combine.

Okay, that said, I didn't have any lemons in the house. I usually keep limes rather than lemons, but I didn't even have any limes. What I used was Boyajian Lemon Oil, about 3 drops, cause that stuff is really strong. Do not try using lemon extract or flavoring or it will be awful. This lemon oil, for anyone who has not tried it, is pure oil of the fruit and looks, smells and tastes just like concentrated essence of the zest of the fruit. Three drops was good. I might have been able to use 4 drops, but I stopped while ahead. Next time I will use real lemon zest because I think it will make a spectacular spread just that much better.

Pomegranate Arils

This morning I decided to open up a pomegranate I had gotten a few days ago. I had it on the counter so I would remember and use it. Today was the day. I have liked pomegranate arils in past, but they were a little distractingly crunchy. I don't know if this pomegranate was more ripe, but these were sweet and only minimally crunchy. They were downright delicious. I got all the little arils out. There were two whole cups of them. That was one large pomegranate.

Supremed Grapefruit and Pomegranate Arils for breakfast

By the way, in case you didn't know, those little things are not seeds. Arils are a covering for the seed of some fruits. The aril itself is attached in some way to the plant and the seed is inside the aril covering. Mace is an aril to the nutmeg. The cotton fibers are the aril to the cotton seed.

So there I stood, tasting how sweet those little arils were and thinking I had planned to have a grapefruit for breakfast. I decided to have both. I supremed the grapefruit segments and put some pomegranate arils on top. It was, I believe, one of the prettiest breakfasts I have had.


My passion is to teach people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and help pass along my love and joy of food, both simple and exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. Join me at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook and Pinterest.