Many thanks to Margaret for this well detailed outline of her no-knead baking techniques.
Perhaps the best thing about the no-knead method is that it makes quality home bread baking possible for so many more people who would otherwise not have the time or inclination to bother or venture past the bread machine. Margaret notches up "easy" to another level.
In her words…
About the no-knead bread, I’m on something between loaf 30 and loaf 40. What fun! My latest experiments, which are geared toward simplicity, are:
- When the dough has risen (after the first 18 hours or so), I wet the dough scraper (so it doesn’t stick to the dough) and turn the dough within the bowl to rest (without dumping it out, and without using any flour).
- Then, I shape the rested dough, again wetting the dough scraper, by folding the dough inside the bowl.
- I then wet my hands and scoop the dough into them, quickly rounding the dough. (Speed is important here. You have to get rid of the dough before it thinks about sticking to you.)
- Then I place it to rise onto a piece of parchment paper about 12 to 16-inches square. I gather the edges of the parchment and lower the whole thing into a bowl that is slightly smaller than the pot I’m baking it in. Optionally, I would think the new Reynolds Release Foil (non-stick aluminum foil) might work in place of the parchment.
- I may or may not dust the top of the dough with wheat bran.
- When it’s ready to go into the oven, I snip 3 slashes into the top of the dough with my kitchen scissors, if I remember.
- Then I again gather the edges of the parchment, lift it from the bowl, lower the dough into the preheated cooking pot and put the cover on. It doesn’t matter if the top squashes the edges of the parchment.
Alternatively, if you have a baking stone, you can leave the parchment flat in step 4, then put the dough onto the stone on the flat parchment, and COVER it with an inverted pre-heated pot (assuming the handles of the pot allow it to sit flat on the stone).
This works no matter how dry or soupy your dough is. I keep mine pretty wet.
None of this is particularly original. I’ve gleaned the bits from other generous experimenters and simplifiers. The advantages are not having to use or clean up the additional flour, not worrying as much about burning yourself or deflating the dough when it’s "dumped" into the pot, and very little cleanup since the pot stays clean and the kitchen isn’t dusted with flour.
Margaret, Ball Ground, GA, www.margaretberthold.com
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
The last two loaves of NKB which I have made have turned out great!
For taste, I have used 2 teaspoons of salt and about a half cup of whole wheat flour.
For looks, I have lined a coiled proofing basket with non-stick foil (Reynolds Release), pressing it down and in, so that it takes the shape of the basket. Then I put the dough into the basket for the hour and a half rise. After it has risen, I lift the foil and dough out and put them in a 5 cup dutch oven to bake.
The final shape is perfect and the flavor is delicious.
Here are my suggestions for no-knead bread:
# I pre-boil my tap water to eliminate any free chlorine and bad bugs that could reproduce in the long fermentation.
# I cut a 12 square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and roughly shape it on the outside of my 5-qt cold Dutch oven. Then I put it on the inside and press and smooth it snugly against the sides of the pot. Then I lightly grease or spray with oil the sides of the foil liner.
# I remove the foil liner and place it in a frying pan so that I can easily move it over to the stove. Then I sprinkle the bottom with bran and put in the dough for its second rise for up to a couple of hours. The liner has the advantage of being safer and less messy and also of not deflating the dough when putting it in the hot pot.
# During the last 30 minutes of the rise I heat the oven to 500F with the empty Dutch oven in it.
# Using oven mittens, I take the hot pot out, remove the lid, and set it aside on something heat proof. I grasp the two opposite corners of the foil liner, lift and lower it gently into the hot pot (without having an anxiety attack), and replace the lid.
# After returning the pot to the oven I set the temperature to 500F and bake the bread for 30 minutes, remove the lid, set the oven for 450F, and bake for 20 minutes. (These times may need to be adjusted depending upon the oven and pot used.
# Remove the pot from the oven with mittened hands and remove the bread and liner from the pot, and let the bread cool for at least 30 minutes. Then let the enjoyment begin!
Thanks for the great tips, Bob!
you put the bread and the foil in the dutch oven to bake??
When you put the dough in the liner that’s in a skillet for the rise period, before the transfer to the D/O, do you cover the foil for the rise period, and if so with what?
I made the NKB for the first time yesterday. I used sourdough starter and about 1 cup of whole wheat bread. The bread turned out pretty well - the flavor was excellent. However, the crust was beyond crusty - i could hardly cut it with my bread knife! Any ideas on how to correct that?
Thanks!
Hi Anne,
Here are a few suggestions for softening the crust:
There are no doubt other ideas, but these are a some that I’ve used or heard about.
Good luck.
I am on my 10th loaf of no knead bread, make that any bread. I have a problem with my loaves though, I’ve never made a white flour loaf as yet, preferring to use King Arthur White Wheat instead. To make things worse, I only have a 5 1/2 qt oval Staub, since its a bit bigger I’ve been making 1.5x the recipes. I follow the standard proofing times but my loaves never rise more than 1.5 inches. I’ve tried fresh yeast, Red Star & 1/2 white wheat & 1/2 white. How can I get my loaves to rise higher?
Hi Vikram,
I’m not sure the no knead method is all that suitable for recipes that involve large percentages of whole wheat. From my experience so far in making no knead bread, which is getting to be significant, you’re better off sticking to the exact recipes that have proven to be successful until you get at least on of them down. Then experiment from there.
For mostly (or all) whole wheat bread, follow an altogether different recipe. I’ll be adding more recipes and videos for 100% whole wheat that are excellent. They’re just not no knead recipes.
Regarding following the exact recipes, I would suggest you even stick to the exact quantities given at first. Don’t worry about your Dutch oven being too big. Also, buy some SAF Instant Yeast. It really is superior to most.
Hope this helps.
Eric
Hi Eric, Thanks for the advice, I decided to go back to basics and things have turned out much better since.
One thing I should mention is I was using Red Star Active Dry Yeast. To make the bread using ADY I need to use almost twice as much and activate it with some warm water and honey rather than a dry mix.
Second, I’ve been making the Seeded No Knead which is also our favorite bread, @ 1&1/3x the recipe, which fits my 5.5qt Dutch Oven well. I’ve been making it with flax instead of poppy which adds some crunch.
Thanks for the update, Vikram.
Flax seed in place of poppy sounds like a really good idea. Good for digestion too.
For those searching for an appropriate pot, I have used with great success a 4 quart, round crock pot insert. Since their lids are not oven proof, you can simply use a cookie sheet or foil for the covered portion of the baking.
I have also increased the recipe by 1.5 and used a 6 quart, oval crock pot insert. Again the results were great.
You might try using some vital wheat gluten. Have you tried active dry yeast. Make sure your yeast is fresh and kept refrigerated or frozen when not in use. Maybe your dough has is not wet enough and sometimes wheat flour takes a lot longer to proof. That’s about all I can think of… Good luck, Sylvia H
I was checking my oval crockpot yesturday wondering would it work…but I didn’t know the lids were not heat proof…great idea using the cookie or foil to cover. Thanks for letting me know this pot works…I have been using a very old covered daisy pattern Marcrest crockpot, old add on the box they came in say they are heatproof to 500 degrees also they are stoneware,just the right size…and it works great too..I got it on ebay..about 10 bucks. I wonder if I could use my old brown stoneware bowls with the foil/c.sheet method.
SOME ADDITIONAL IDEAS:
Slide the parchment risen bread on a hot stone and cover it with a NOT big aluminum bowl. They are really CHEAP at the dollar stores and work fine. The only thing you need is silicone potholders to lift the aluminum bowl because regular potholders slide. If anybody has any other ideas on what to cover the bread with (when baking on a stone) I’d love to hear them.
Error above. It is supposed to be HOT, not “not”
I have used the bottom of a blue speckled enamel turkey cooker on top of two baking stones that cover the width of it and the bread came out beautiful with a thin crispy crust not burned on the bottom. I really liked more than any other loaves crusts I have made. I read about doing this online somewhere! The idea suggested above about using silcone gloves makes the pan easier to lift on and off. I also like using my super peel to slide my loaf onto the baking stone.
My newest & favorite way to create a great loaf is using a 12 inch diameter round clay flower pot (which I place the bread in) , covered on top with a 12″ clay plant saucer….The clay pot cost less than $ 10 at my local Lowes hardware store.
I’ve tried soaking the pot & saucer in water before baking to vary the amount of steam (which lengthens baking time & alters crust crunch) but isn’t necessary.
I put clay flower pot & saucer in oven to get hot for several minutes before lowering in bread loaf on parchment paper…(lowering on parchment paper helps to avoid deflating loaf which sometimes occurs when dropping it in, especially with soft-wet dough)
use a nonstick wok with metal handle.
I’ve had great success with sourdough no-knead; so far I’ve not deviated much from the original recipe, adding a few grains, etc. I’m looking for a recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread that uses at least part whole wheat but that is soft and not too holey or crumbly for sandwiches. I tried the KA white whole wheat sandwich bread and it was light, soft with good texture but it was just tasteless, using KA white whole wheat flour as recommended. I used the bread machine to make the dough and was not a no-knead bread. Just wondering if anyone has successfully converted a ww or oatmeal sandwich bread recipe to no-knead.
Hi Connie,
The Cooks Illustrated No Knead recipe converts very well to a tasty sandwich bread. If you go with their “whole wheat” recipe, it’s about 1/3 whole wheat.
Peter Reinhart’s whole grain book has some excellent 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipes that I’ve made a lot, but they’re not nearly as easy as the no knead recipes.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve looked at PR’s whole wheat recipes, copied some from library. Trying to decide trying one as they have sourdough. No knead but maybe I’ll have to stop being so lazy. I want to use my own starter.
To Jerry Ulett or others who’ve tried that method for looks: do you use the foil to put the bread in the pot? I think of that as the big advantage of using foil or parchment, but wouldn’t that put the shape on the bottom? I haven’t been able to successfully invert the bread from the basket to the pot. It always gets a little lopsided… Any tips appreciated! Thank you.
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