Comments on:

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:03:56 +0000

Doing the no-knead method and the bread has been consistently better each time. I’ve got great spring, nice crumb, and crust is awesome. Sourdough, a bit of rye, and spent grains from homebrewing beer give a wonderful complex flavor.

One last issue: The bread is consistently what I would characterize as being overly moist. I’ve made bread before that wasn’t cooked enough and the interior was doughy. This rises all the way through and there is no wet dough, but the interior moistness is in excess of bakery bread.

Is there a trick to drying out the interior a bit more?

By: Eva J.

Eva J. — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:38:04 +0000

Hi Eric-
I recently became a fan of the no-knead bread method and have been baking many loaves since I received a book for Christmas. My husband recently ordered the bread whisk from you – and I just made my first bread dough using it. It definitely made it much easier to incorporate the water. Very solid and very reasonably priced!!

I see that you have a spelt sourdough recipe. I became a fan of spelt after eating great dinkel breads in Germany (dinkel is the German word). However, it wasn’t using a sourdough base. Any suggestions as to ratios for using spelt in non-sourdough recipes?

By: Greg Schultz

Greg Schultz — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:38:54 +0000

Is there an optimum “moment” to add sourdough starter? Let’s say I’ve refreshed my starter several times in the last few days. It doubles in about four hours. Should I add it to my dough recipe at the peak of its activity (doubling), when it is exhausted, or does it matter, as long as it has been refreshed?

Second question: My starter smells sweet (not particularly yeasty), but when I taste it, it is very acid-tasting on my tongue. I’ve been trying to make slow, refrigerator-risen sourdough, and though the rise has been so-so over two days, the baked bread has virtually no sour flavor. What variable might I be missing in getting the sourest possible result?
Many thanks for any ideas.

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:39:14 +0000

Hi Pete,

I’ve had so many favorite recipes since I mentioned the “2 cups sourdough” one that I’ve long forgotten specifically which I was referring to at the time. I do know it came out of Ed Wood’s Classic Sourdoughs book as there’s a number of recipes in it that call for 2 cups of sourdough. It’s not a bad book to have for the sourdough aficionado.

By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:52:30 +0000

Eric, In one of your starter videos, I believe the one you rescued an old sour dough starter , you mentioned that one of your favorite breads used 2 cups of starter. Is this recipe somewhere on this site or are you going to put it on?
I would really be interested in having it… I like you, cut my teeth of SF sourdough bread more specifically at Fishermans Wharf.. Keep up the great work,. Breadtopia is a God send for all of us aspiring I was going to say young bakers, but alas am well past my youth but love to bake bread.. Pete

By: Merle Borg

Merle Borg — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:26:37 +0000

Thanks for your advice. The problem that I was having with the bread not rising enough seems to be solved. I was letting it rise in the oven with the light on for 18 hrs, and the yeast was spent by the time it came to baking. I’m letting it rise now in a cold oven for 18 hrs, then while I fold it for the second rise, I put the oven on and let it warm up a bit. I then put the cold dough in this warm oven and let it double in size. I take it out while heating the oven and the clay bakers to 500 degrees and then put the dough in the hot bakers for 30 minutes. I take off the clay tops and let it brown a little while longer. Usually less than 10 minutes. I think it now has the light texture that it should. I put a couple of tbs. of butter in the mix and love the taste and the fact that the bread stays moist longer.

*Click to enlarge

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:30:01 +0000

Hi Merle,

It’s easier to get a better rise with stiffer (thicker) dough. So you might try adding more flour at the beginning and/or less water. Just experiment a little and see what happens. Also, sometimes shortening the proofing time from 18 hours to 10-14 (depending on room temperature) can help a lot, and reducing the second rise to not more than 60-75 minutes or so. The yeast may be more potent earlier in the proofing cycle.
And if you’re not already doing it, place your dough in the cloche after you’ve preheated it. That will give you better oven spring.

Hope this helps. Let us know!

By: Merle Borg

Merle Borg — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:46:36 +0000

I love this bread!! My neighbors love me because of this bread. I follow the directions exactly, (except I put in a couple of tablespoons of butter) and I’m wondering if there is any way to get the bread to rise just a bit more? I’ve tried varying the water and the rising time, but these don’t seem to have much effect. I’m using King Arthur bread flour, SAF instant yeast, purified water, and clay bakers yet I’ve never gotten the large holes that many pictures show. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

By: Hans

Hans — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:56:18 +0000

For you No Knead Bread enthousiasts who don’t have or don’t want to invest in a Dutch oven, I have been working with a very economical alternative.
I purchased a clay plant pot underliner, which measures 8.25” at the bottom and a stainless steel salad bowl measuring 9.25” across the rim.
I preheat them in a 450 degree oven and tip the bread in it when it has risen enough. The benefit here is, as with a cloche, that you don’t have to plop the dough into it but gently lay it on the underliner.
Attached is a picture with the result. This is a odified version of the NK bread with steel cut oats. I just used more whole wheat instead of white. I also use this contraption to bake bread using more convential methods, such as the multi grain based on the recipe in Nancy Silverton’s book “Breads from the La Brea Bakery”.
For me the big advantage of baking in a dutch oven, cloche, whatever, is that, for the same end result, you don’t have to spray the oven with water which eventually will cost you $300/$400 in repairs if you have an electronic ignition system for the oven. (I have first hand knowledge of that).

Happy Baking

Hans Leenhouts

*Click to enlarge

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:08:16 +0000

Hi Kate,

I would like to do that at some point in my life. There’s a recipe for sourdough croissants in Daniel Leader’s book Local Breads that’s been calling to me for some time.

My wife is really the one to ask. She used to make croissants when she had her bakers and still shudders at the thought of how much work they are. Of course there’s a big difference between making something for yourself and making it commercially. Maybe your request will move it up on my “to do” list but with all the other things on that list, I can’t see it happening anytime soon.

Thanks for asking though.