Comments on: Great No-Knead Baking Techniques

By: Bonnie Staffel

Bonnie Staffel — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:22:05 +0000

This may be a little off topic, but since I purchased a Cuisenart Bread Baker, it mixes, rises twice and bakes the bread in about 3 1/2 hours. Howewver, I was raised by a mother who made her own bread, letting it rise by setting it on the kitchen radiator. She also would send me to the local bakery to buy a quarter inch of fresh yeast. Did that make the difference? I remember the wonderful odor from the rising bread. I don’t get that with the fast Cuisenart, nor is the final flavor of the bread the same. The baker is very precise in the recipes and I think there is an Artisan recipe in there. I now weigh the ingredients so as to be precise for the baker. I also used to use flax seed meal, but did not like the flavor it gave to the bread. I might now try the Artisan recipe in their book to see if I can get that old flavor I remember. I don’t have an oven in my apartment, only a toaster oven. Maybe I can try the NKB in that. As I am a potter, I could make a bisque bread baker which I can soak in water to get the required steam. Love this forum.

By: MZalusky

MZalusky — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 07:55:25 +0000

Margaret,
I love your gathering of ideas and clear steps. After about 20 loaves I’m always looking for added efficiencies. Here are the steps I use for my cold-oven no-knead bread method (using the Cook’s Illustrated recipe ingredients):

1. Measure and mix all the ingredients as instructed in the recipe and let ist a room temperature – I typically go for a 24-hour period.

2. Line a 2 1/2 or 3 quart enameled cast iron pot with parchment paper and lightly spray it with nonstick cooking spray. (Yes, the container is much smaller than the recommended 5+ quart size pot but the smaller pot will force the rising dough to increase in height rather than spread wide.)

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead and shape as instructed in the recipe. I find that kneading it a bit more vigorously than CI recommends results in a crumb with a bit smaller crumbs but still very light and airy.)

4. Put the shaped dough into the cold, parchment-lined pot, put the lid on and let rise for 3 hours. This is 1 more hour than recommended by CI. I’ve tried 2 hours and prefer resulting dough achieved with an additional hour rise time. To get a consistent rise time, regardless of my home’s ambient temperature, I get a consistent 3-hour rise by putting the covered pot into my oven with the oven light turned on and the oven door closed.

5. After 3 hours the pot is removed from the oven, the dough gets a few slashes, the pot -s re-covered and returned to the cold oven (door closed). Set oven temperature to 450-degrees and bake fo 35 minutes. Remove the lid, insert a remote thermometer probe set to 207 degrees. For me the crust is too dark and crumb too dry if baked to 210-degrees but YMMV.

Having the dough rise and bake in the same small pot eliminates the step of having to transfer the dough into a hot pan and the much smaller pot results in a very high boule. Also, eliminating the pre-heating step means the oven is only being used while the bread is baking.

By: Lauri

Lauri — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:20:54 +0000

Are there specific adjustments for high altitude?

By: Becky

Becky — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:26:52 +0000

Is it possible to use baskets other than proofing baskets so as to have alternative surface patterns on the NKB?

By: Catherine

Catherine — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:45:24 +0000

It has been very exciting reading all these comments about the NKB! I am new to baking and didn’t know there was a whole “bread lovers” world out there!

I have prepared aout 7 loaves so far with great results. I will try the cold oven method tomorrow, as well as the pre-heated pizza stone covered with an aluminum roasting pan… I also have reduced the second rise time to about 1 hour (after turning dough around the same bowl where it has risen for the first 12 hours or so) and then baking it with great results.

This really seems to be almost like a fool proof recipe! The other day I added green olives and saute onions in the second rise and it was excellent.

By: Dave the Novice

Dave the Novice — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 02:48:26 +0000

Hi, Starter,

If you’re going to go with a cold Dutch oven, I wouldn’t bother to preheat the oven at all. It’s going to take a while to warm up all that cast iron, so, whatever benefit there is in the initial blast of heat with preheating, you’re giving that up. Quite a few people prefer to start cold, and they are happy with the results.

I did a head-to-head test with identical loaves, one started cold, the other with a preheated Dutch oven. The preheated loaf got a little more oven spring, but both worked fine.

By: Starter

Starter — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:36:14 +0000

I am just about to bake my first no-knead bread, and I am choosing to use a 20 min. preheated oven of 475, with a cold or room temp. cast iron pan, because I think it will be a lot easier not to transfer the dough after second rise. I read an article in the magazine “Eating Well” by Nancy Baggett. I have a question though, Has anyone ever used the “Nouveau” pots from “Princess House”? Made in France. They are made of the same materiel as the tile used on the space shuttle and can stand heat over 700 degrees.

By: viginia

viginia — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:48:38 +0000

i am baking bead like cazy eric…i just received my clay bakers,,,i have to loafs eady to go in tomoow,,,cant wait to ty the la close…..i have lost weight making bead and eating it to…its better than eating cakes and cookies with no fat in the bead .i am telling eveyone that comes into my shop about you site…best of luck…viginia

By: Harvey

Harvey — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:03:39 +0000

Mzalusky,
Thanks for the dutch oven comparisons. I have one more to add. I just tried a 4 qt Lodge Logic pre seasoned cast iron. I found this size just about perfect. The dough rose up nicely, even though it was quite soupy to start with. The best part is I don’t have to worry about discoloring and ruining my expensive Le Creuset pots or melting knobs. The 4 qt Lodge cost me less than 1/4 of the price of my Le Creuset of the same size.
The black color also changes the bake time from (covered /uncovered) 30 / 15 min. for the basic white NKB. to 25 / 10 min. Internal temp went to 209.

By: Harvey

Harvey — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:35:57 +0000

Barbara Ross,

to answer your quest about covering the dough directly on the hot stone. Try a foil roasting pan. They come in a variety of sizes and depths and are available everywhere. Supermarkets, dollar stores etc. all have them. I suggest the deep steam table pans.
They are so thin and heat conductive that they heat up almost instantly in the hot oven and eliminate the need to preheat them. This make them easier to handle.