Cook’s Illustrated Almost No Knead
A Clever Variation of an “Old” Theme
My hat is off to CooksIllustrated.com for formulating a worthy variation to the now famous New York Times no knead recipe. They call it their “Almost No Knead” bread since it involves a bit of light kneading, but another key step in the process is streamlined so overall their recipe is still a cinch to make.
If you’re already familiar with the “traditional” no knead recipe, I think you will find the final results of this one significantly different in almost all respects. This crust has a nice crunch to it but is much thinner and easier to chew and the interior crumb is tighter (smaller holes) and softer. I wouldn’t classify this bread as “rustic” like I would the NYT version.
But what really sets this recipe apart is its flavor. The addition of a few ounces of beer and a tablespoon of white vinegar creates a unique and pleasing flavor all its own.
In these videos I cover the Cooks Illustrated plain white flour and whole wheat flour versions.
This recipe also converts extremely well to sandwich loaf bread. In the third video below, I do just that.
I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of this bread – please leave your comments below.
Update: See Virginia’s comment post of 8/22/08. She made a few changes to get great results with a rye version (click link) of this recipe.
White Flour Recipe:
3 cups (15 ounces) all purpose or bread flour
1/4 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. (7 ounces) water at room temp
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. (3 ounces) mild flavored lager
1 Tbs. white vinegar
Whole Wheat Recipe:
2 cups (10 ounces) all purpose or bread flour
1 cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. honey (I used 2 Tbs. raw sugar)
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. (7 ounces) water at room temp
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. (3 ounces) mild flavored lager
1 Tbs. white vinegar
Note: The beer can be non-alcoholic.
Also, regarding the use of sugar and the ratio of white to whole wheat flour in the ‘Whole Wheat’ recipe, see the post from Beatrix below. She used 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 of white and it still came out light.
Baking Instructions: For both these recipes, preheat your oven with Dutch oven or Cloche inside to 500 degrees. Reduce temperature to 425 when the bread dough goes in and bake covered for 30 minutes. Then remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the internal bread temperature reaches about 200 degrees.
Almost No Knead Sandwich Loaf Recipe
The thinner crust and softer, tighter crumb of the Almost No Knead recipe, combined with its subtle flavors, makes it a nice candidate for a sandwich loaf. Here’s a video of the process with the the adjusted ingredient quantities.
18 ounces (~3 2/3 cups) flour. Use all white or a combination of white and up to 6 ounces whole wheat.
1 3/4 tsp salt
3/8 tsp. instant yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) water
1/2 cup (4 ounces) beer
1 1/4 Tbs white vinegar
2 1/2 Tbs honey (I use raw sugar instead). The honey is suggested only when baking the whole wheat version of this recipe.
Baking Instructions: Preheat oven to 425. Place bread pan with risen dough in oven and reduce temperature to 350. Bake for 55 minutes or until internal bread temperature is about 200 degrees. Note that in the video I’m using a Pyrex bread pan. A metal bread pan would probably bake a few minutes faster.
Note: some have reported an issue with the loaf sticking to the bread pan. After buttering/oiling the baking pans, cornmeal can be sprinkled liberally on the insides and bottom of the pans. This eliminates the bread sticking to the sides while baking. Thanks to Tom & Melody DeGraziano for this tip.
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Is there a way to calculate the amount of flour/water when you add steel cut oats/granola/whole wheat/five grains/regular oats, etc. for different variations of the basic white bread? i.e. if you add 1/2 c of steel cut oats do you simply subtract 1/2 c of the white flower and keep everything else the same or does it change for every different addition?
Have really enjoyed basic loaf and variations and appreciate all the work that went into sharing this basic recipe.
Hello David Mayes
Don’t worry about the bread being flat, or non-alcoholic beer, or even flat, non-alcoholic beer. All of them work perfectly. I’ve used cider, too, and added some nuts and dates or currents or dried cranberries—and the bread was wonderful.
Canned beer I would transfer to a bottle, if you want to keep it for a while, just as you wouild transfer canned food to glass or ceramic, if you are going to keep it after opening the can.
Greetings,
Karil
Hello,
I have had great success with your NK recipes down here in South Africa baking in a cold, wet Romertopf, with baking paper liner. Tonight for the first time, I’m starting a loaf of ANK whole wheat and excited to see how it will turnout. I don’t drink beer, so I’m wordering what suggestions you might have about using all the leftover beer from a six-pak can. Can I store it and use it in another loaf in a few days? Any help would be welcome.
Thanks for creating and supporting this site!
Dave Mayes
Cape Town
I haven’t used sourdough starter with this recipe. I think the main idea behind this recipe is to simulate the flavor of sourdough bread without using sourdough. So this is a good recipe for the larger group of home bakers who don’t bake with starter.
Personally, I don’t think it tastes like sourdough bread but has a nice flavor in its own right. I’m inclined to either make a basic no knead bread with sourdough or this bread as it is. Just two different recipes with their own appeal.
In regard to David’s April 18 comment, I am wondering if you used sourdough starter in addition to the yeast, in place of the beer and vinegar, or besides, or did I get a mistaken take on it? Eric, you have said you often use starter instead of yeast, so I also wonder if you have tried doing that with this recipe? If so, how would you adjust the amount of liquids? (I don’t have a scale, except a postal scale and you need a flashlight to read the numbers!)
Thanks.
Marilyn B.
Gosh,
Thank you all for your replys!
I have been baking my weekly bread for only two months. I use the sourdough starter I purchased from this site and it adds a complexity to the bread I really like.
I still have not been able to duplicate the San Francisco sourdough flavor I long for and I am hoping by adding the lager and vinegar it will “improve” the flavor to more of the flavor I am looking for.
I have started proofing the “sponge” 18 hours before my first rise and second rise and baking but still no San Francisco flavor.
I will keep at it and continue to experiemment with the entire process until I acheive the flavor I am looking for in my bread.
I was sure that the question about flat lager had been asked but I really didn’t want to take the time to read all the posts in this forum to find them. Sorry for the duplicate question.
And again thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions.
David
Yes, rather early on in the discussion of this recipe there was confirmation that flat beer is just fine for making the bread. I love beer, but I am not always in the mood to drink it, or it might not be the right time of day when I open a bottle for baking. I don’t drink flat beer (yuk), but I’ve found no detrimental side to using it for baking this bread and have also used the same open bottle stored in the fridge over the period of a week or so. I’ve also used cider along with cider vinegar, which is also very good, especially if making a nut and raisin bread. Soak the raisins in the cider first to plump them up. The cider can be flat, too.
I bake bread every week. I open a bottle of beer and use it til its gone. There was a previous post that said that was ok to do.
David,
Oddly enough I’m a brewer’s son which doesn’t mean a lot when baking bread but I’ve been using the Almost No Knead recipe for a couple years and find no problem with using flat beer. In fact, I buy a quart of lager and use it till it is gone. Simply store it in the fridge, the bread doesn’t need the bubbles. We used to pick up all bottled beer from our customers when it was 30 days old but that isn’t a concern with the bread. Hope this helps. Note: to my taste I prefer a lighter beer rather than the heavier brews. I know this may offend some readers taste buds but that’s what makes the world go round!
Bob Johnson
Bonsall CA
David,
Ask around an you’ll find someone who home brews beer and they’ll be happy to supply you with a few ounces of beer. Home made bread with home brewed beer. Ask for IPA or Stout. Yummy!
Hi David,
I’m in the same boat as you. I haven’t noticed a difference using left over flat beer in the recipe. So the benefit must come from the flavor which is retained as far as I can tell. Beer ingredients also include yeast. I kind of doubt if the yeast in beer contributes any leavening to the bread even if newly opened, so that’s probably not an issue either.
Greetings:
I have a simple question regarding the ingrediants for this Cook’s Illustrated bread recipe:
Can the open lager (beer) be saved and used the next time I bake bread?
I bake once a week pain de mie sourdough and I do not drink. I know the beer will go flat when stored. Do you need the “bubbles” or just the beer flavor for this bread?
I would prefer not to purchase one bottle of beer each time I bake bread. I don’t want the expense of the beer to add to the cost of the bread.
David
Hello Falsehaat
Actually, I have baked the NK and ANK loafs covered during the entire baking time in a clay pot or in a Dutch oven and find that the crust browns more evenly that way and with less danger of the top becoming too dark. It doesn’t seem to have any detrimental effects on the crumb. Check it after about 45 minutes. As Jeffrey writes, try it. And yes, DO test for internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
>> My question: What are the merits of simply baking the full 60 minutes with the lid on?
Falsehaat
I suppose the bread would not lose quite as much moisture, with a less well-developed crust. Why not bake a loaf that way and let us know the results? But another 30 minutes might be a disaster – if the loaf is nicely browning after 30 minutes with the lid on, another 30 minutes might result in an over-brown loaf. If it were me, I’d go for another 10-15 minutes or so with lid on (40 min. total), then check it, and adjust the “lid-off” timing further if need be.
The recipe does say “or until the internal bread temperature reaches about 200 degrees.” Do you have an instant read thermometer to check the bread temperature? They’re quite useful, and Eric sells them at a reasonable price.
Also, your oven seems like it might be “hot”, i.e., a setting of 425 might actually produce a higher temperature, such as 450. It would be a good idea to check the temperature with an oven thermometer (borrowed, if you can find one). Oven size can be a factor – I used to bake in a small cottage oven which was barely wide enough for two loaf-pans or one clay-pot cooker, but not wide enough for a round La Cloche cooker. It made beautiful bread, but I had to watch it closely. Something about the small baking compartment made it different from cooking in larger ovens. I didn’t use clay pots for breadback then, but the oven size I think made that unnecessary.
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