Comments on: It’s Bread Baking Season

By: freddie

freddie — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:16:41 +0000

For about two years I’ve been experimenting with NKB and this is what I’ve ended up with (for now). Not knowing a damn thing about baking has helped me considerably.
2 c. unbleached flour
1 c. Whole wheat flour
2 T ground flax seed
1 T wheat germ
1 T wheat bran
1+ t salt
1 t sugar
1/2 t yeast
1-1/2 c. filtered water
Let rise as most recipes and bake, covered at 450 for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 to 30 more.

The result isn’t as elastic as usual or as I like, but is very tasty and nutritious.
I have also added 2 T. of rinsed, dried and ground quinoa or 2 T chia seed, two very powerful grains.
The walnut-raisin is so popular that I’ve been making about 10 loaves a week for friend who love it as a “breakfast bread”. Even my ex-wife, who is a master baker loves it.

(1/3 c. raisins + 1/3 c. walnut pieces for walnut-raisin bread)

By: david

david — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:16:18 +0000

Re. my last post, the uncovered bake can be between 15 and 20 minutes depending on how dark you want your loaf. The load in this picture was 15 minutes and although dark the crust appears a bit thinner than in the past at 20 minutes. I’m waiting for it to cool down before jumping in.

*Click to enlarge

By: david

david — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:22:10 +0000

I’ve experimented with different flour, the amount of flour, and the amount of water after the first two attempts left me with a soppy mess after the first rise. Here’s the PERFECT (for me) recipe and technique. Incidentally, bread flour does respond differently than AP flour which for the same proportions was a bit more wet. Thus, if you’re going to make bread then make it with a high-protein/high gluten four such as All-Trumps or a store bought bread flour. Following is my technique to make 1 Batard with a finishing weight of 1 lb. 7 ounces. The pre-bake weight is 16 + 12 = 28 ounces. Thus there is a 5 ounce loss of liquid during baking. (You may have noticed I’m a bit fanatical about these things). I might add, the crust and crumb are first class and I always get compliments on my bread.

So, I start off by weighing 1 lb of bread flour to which I add 1/4 tsp yeast and 1 1/2 tsp table salt. I put that in my Cuisinart stand mixer and give it a mix at speed level 1 using the paddle attachment. Then I add 12 ounces (by weight) of room temp. water and let it mix, again with the paddle attachment speed 1, for about 1 minute. I scoop that out and let it rise about 18 hours (I start this about 2 in the afternoon and complete the process upon awakening the next moring) in an 8 cup bowl sprayed with a light coat of oil. In the morning I give the bowl a gentle downward bang on a folded towel and let the risen dough gently deflate itself naturally. Then using a plastic scraper I turn it out on a floured counter. I let it rest 15 minutes (I don’t know why, but it’s a good time to grab a cup of coffee and contemplate the nature of the universe). I then gently flour the surface and press it down to a rectangular shape with the longer edges going away from me. Then I fold the top third over the middle third and the lower third over that. I flour it once again and press it out slightly so it’s a rectangle with the long sides going left to right. I let it rest several minutes then crease the middle long ways and fold it just once on that crease pinching the long edge with my fingers. I then coat the entire log (which is now approximately 12 inches long and 4 inches wide) with cornmeal. I lift it and place it on a piece of brown parchment paper about 1/2 inch larger on all sides and place it on the metal insert that goes in my fish poacher which is 16 1/2 long by 6 1/2 wide by 4 1/2 high heavy metal construction. The insert has two wire handles at each end to lift it when placing the insert into the poacher. I cover the bread with a tea towel and let it rise 90 minutes. After one hour I put the poacher in the oven and turn it on to 500, letting it and the oven heat up for 30 minutes. At the 90 minute mark I remove the poacher from the oven and place in my risen dough it using the self constructed metal handles. Sometimes I score it 5 times with a sharp knife but that risks deflating the dough. I’ve now come to the conclusion that a natural rip across the top during the “oven spring” portion of the baking looks quite nice, thus not scoring with a knife. Just before covering I give it a light spritz of water using a Windex type spritzer you do your windows and counters with. I cover it and put it in the oven at 500 for 30 minutes then an additional 15 minutes at 450 uncovered. When done baking I just lift it out of the poacher with my little handles, slide the bread off of the parchment paper and let it cool on a rack. The neat thing listening to it crack as it cools down. It’s singing to me!
Over and out not to mention happy baking,
The Great Throwdini (www.knifethrower.com)

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:48:29 +0000

Hi Ann,

Is this a recipe from this site or another one? Sometimes this helps me answer questions.

Generically speaking, you can try shortening the proofing time to more like 12-14 hours and just stiffen the dough a bit more with more flour. With the no knead recipes you usually have a fair amount of flexibility in the recipe and still get great results.

By: Ann S

Ann S — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:26:22 +0000

I am having trouble with my no knead Italian bread recipe – I follow it very carefully, even bought a scale to weigh the flour, I am using 2 cups King Arthur’s italian flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour, but the mixture is too wet and hard to handle after 18 hours. Should I put my dough in the refrigerator? What should I be doing differently?

By: Bill Huebl

Bill Huebl — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:41:57 +0000

I use wax paper and spray it with cooking spray. Seems to work as well as parchment and a lot cheaper.

Also, try using some Goya Malta in your recipes – might start with half a bottle… the results are amazing.

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:05:44 +0000

Hello Mai,

Ah, thanks for mentioning that. I didn’t realize it wasn’t showing. You’ll find it by scrolling down on this page a bit: http://www.breadtopia.com/strawberry-rhubarb-pie/

By: mai O'Neill

mai O'Neill — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:50:49 +0000

Hi Eric, I’m looking for Denise”s recipe for strawberry & rhubarb pie but can’t seem to locate it on the site right now. Could you please e-mail to me or the part of the site it’s on. Thanks. Mai.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:46:49 +0000

Question: has anyone tried to do this with a teflon sheet instead of parchment paper? I love using them in cooking, lining roasting trays, grill trays, cake pans, and afterwards you only need to wipe and dry before reuse. So if it works, it would save money and paper.
(I would try myself, but I haven’t made a successful loaf yet so I’m sure anyone else could answer faster. I do hope to get there soon though)

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:43:43 +0000

Hi Linda,

How to best store bread is an interesting topic and how people handle it varies a lot. There are a few discussions on the topic. One starts here http://www.breadtopia.com/2008/10/31/no-knead-rye-recipe/#comment-32500 and continues through a few posts below.

Another here: http://www.breadtopia.com/cooks-illustrated-almost-no-knead/#comment-31481