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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Also, weather damage to the kernals before they are harvested can affect gluten levels, so it’s possible to get a batch that doesn’t respond as well as another. There are a lot of technical numbers which depend in part on the amount of damage to the grain which mills provide to commercial bakeries so that they can make adjustments for consistency’s sake, but which are fairly useless to the home baker.
Rye has very little gluten in it to begin with. The Hodgson Mill available here in Kansas is whole rye, so it has a lot of bran in it. I’ve never used Bob’s Red Mill, but just looking at it in the store, it looks like it might be more of a light rye, with part of the bran removed. In my mind, Hodgson Mill is something I’d want to use for Pumpernickel, which is supposed to be heavier. For lighter Rye’s I’d look for something lighter, which Bob’s seems to be. I’d suggest adding some gluten powder the next time (sparingly, though – too much, and the bread tastes like cardboard somewhat), or maybe use 3-1 w/r flour.
I’ve been using the almost no-knead recipe with my sour-dough starter. I make a white rye, using 1 c rye to 2 c white flour. I use about 1/4 c of starter and reduce the fluids by 2 oz. I seemed to be doing fine with Bob’s Red Mill rye and made many successful batches. My last rye purchase was Hodgeson Mill. When I mix up the dough, it seems to need some help (more warmth) to get the dough started otherwise it just sits there like an ugly stubborn lump. It seems to be a courser grind. Has anyone had different experiences with different brands of rye? I THINK my starter is healthy and I THINK my technique is still the same… feel like I’ve lost ‘the touch’. This flour seems tougher to get rising. Expiration date is 3/2011 so its not outdated.
Re: Lining pan
Unless there’s some aesthetic or particular baking issue (e.g., fruitcakes, very moist with fruit pieces that will stick to the sides of the pan and burn), I only line the bottom of a bread pan, and run a thin knife around the vertical surfaces to free up the loaf, as bottom-sticking is the only problem I’ve had real trouble with for most breads.
Re: bread sticking to bread pan. I line my pans with cooking parchment. It doesn’t need to be oiled. Incidentally, in U.K. it’s possible to buy packets of pre-formed liners for bread and cake pans, similar to the type of things we use to line muffins and cup cake pans. I brought some home after a trip there but, unfortunately, they have different size pans than in North America. Surely some manufacturer can come up with something for the North American market.
This may be obvious, but I’ll say it anyway, for the notice bakers out there: top burnt? cover the loaf with aluminum foil for the last 5 – 10 minutes or so.
Hurrah! I’ve taken my first ever ANK loaf (sandwich loaf baked in a pan) out of the oven and couldn’t resist a slice before it cooled.
It is delicious! However, the top was a little burned. This may be because I have a European oven, which is smaller than a North American one.
I made the wholewheat version as my family only eat wholewheat bread and am surprised how
light and airy it is for a wholewheat loaf although I did add 2 tbls. of gluten which always helps when baking with wholewheat flour.
I am a convert!
Thanks Marianne. I had found the clay bakers at Golda’s Kitchen, not too far from where I live, but I’m not yet ready to invest that much money in one. I had been thinking of your idea of using an upturned plant pot on my baking stone and I’m pleased to hear it works O.K. My husband is now devising a ‘handle’ to fill the hole in the plant pot!
Hi Diane,
I’m also Canadian and I have been able to find the Romertopf clay bakers in some of the more upscale kitchen stores. Should you ever decide to buy a clay baker, you can always order one from Eric because he does ship to Canada. Amazon.ca sells the Schlemmertopf clay bakers or they can also be purchased from Golda’s Kitchen:
http://kitchenware.goldaskitchen.com/search?w=schlemmertopf&asug=&x=10&y=4
I think Eric’s prices are better.
I make all of my no knead bread as free-form loaves on a baking stone and covered with a clay flower pot. Works great!
Thanks for this Jeffrey. I am not about to indulge in a clay baker just yet Apart from the fact it I have been unable to locate one here in Canada and places in U.S. don’t seem to ship to Canada,
I want to try the ANK and/or NK and see how they work for me before purchasing something I may seldom use. I don’t mind kneading, I find it very therapeutic, plus I usually make bread when the mood strikes or when it is convenient. Having to wait 18 hrs. for the dough to proof is not always convenient as I don’t always know what I will be doing, or where I’ll be, 18hrs. hence. However, I’m very interested in trying ANK/NK method and at the moment have my first ANK doing it’s second rise. I am making the sandwich loaf in a bread pan so don’t have to worry about the dough spreading this time. I’ll keep experimenting. With all the glowing comments I’ve read, I’m sure I’ll find it worthwhile in the end. Whichever way one makes it, homemade bread is always superior to store bought. I have been baking bread for 50 yrs. and both the recipe and the loaf pans I use came with me from England to Canada 45 yrs. ago and are still going strong.
Hi, Diane W
I usually cook using a baking stone (I also line the rack above with quarry tiles I got from home depot to reflect heat back down, but that’s not a necessity). I think that the only possible drawback to using a stone is that is doesn’t have side-support for the loaf, so that bread tends to spread out more, rather than rise up supported by the sides of the baking dish. The real significance to this fact is that water content becomes a lot more important. Wetter doughs tend to spreads out, drier doughs tend to be tight and don’t rise as much, so there is an optimal state of moisture content – which depends from day to day on humidity in the air, how old flour is, how it’s stored, etc., all of which means that bakers of free-standing loaves have to develop a nuanced feel for the dough. There’s no guarantee that using exactly the same carefully weighed measurements will produce the same shape loaf for free-standing loaves, because the absorption rate for the flour can vary so much. So, if you want more consistent results using the NK or ANK method, it would seem to me that investing in a baking pot of some sort would be useful.
I am originally from England and, like Andy, have always ‘frothed’ the yeast in the lukewarm water
before adding to the dry ingredients when working with kneaded dough. This gives the yeast a head start and, one would think, be beneficial for a no-knead dough. Any comments?
Also, as I do not have any sort of heavy pot to to bake bread in, would it have the same effect to just bake it on a pizza stone?
This bread is too wet for all bread flour!
The hydration % are close for whole wheat and would perhaps would improve with a bit of rye. I have made this several times and the whole wheat is good with a good malty ale instead of a light lager. The malt from a good medium ale improves the flavor. I would suggest about 8 oz of bread flour and 2 oz of rye and 5 of whole wheat. Better yet use 1/4 cup of starter instead of yeast and give it an extra 8 hours to develop flavor. You need to start to use hydration % in place of volume or weight
I am new at this adventures bread making. I made the almost no knead version with organic honey beer and organic apple cider vinegar. It tasted fantastic!
*Click to enlarge
Hi Eva,
Thanks heaps for your reply. In anticipation of your reply I impatiently went ahead & had a go at multi-grain bread.
I envy you of your “Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain flour”, haven’t found anything like that here (Australia) so went out & bought various whole grains & flours from supermarket & health food shop.
Tried to adapt my previous “go to” grain bread & Eric’s Seeded Sour NK. Only wanted to make one sizable loaf, otherwise my ingredients & procedure was almost a carbon copy of yours, except for oven times (I realize the different loaf sizes will have some bearing on this).
It seems after 30 min., when I go to take the lid off, the loaf is done. This happened when I baked in the camp oven with coals, but that was probably more good fortune/fluke (which I really hope I can replicate). However now trialling loaves again in my conventional LPG oven the results are the same.
Just to clarify: I pre-heat the oven/pizza stone/camp oven to 500F, lower dough in, reduce heat to 450F.
The dough mixture was to wet (I think that was the reason I didn’t get much oven rise), Comments, crits welcome. Pics. included.
Still… Reasonably happy with result,will monitor liquid more closely next time,till dough feels right.
Best to all.
*Click to enlarge
Bruce – sure looks like your diligence paid off. Nice job!
Hi Bruce.
I do not soak the 10 Grains. I use “Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain flour” straight out of the bag.
I did revise my recipe just a little bit. I don’t have a problem for the bread to reach an internal temp. of 210 F. However, the end of the temp. probe comes out sticky no matter how long I bake the bread. Maybe one of these days I will get it right.
1 1/2 cups Rye flour
1 1/2 cups 10 Grain flour ( Bob’s Red Mill)
3 cups unbleached Breadflour ( King Arthur)
1 teaspoon Instant yeast
3 teaspoons salt ( a little less)
12 oz. Beer at room temperature ( I use “Pete’s Wicked Ale”)
8 oz to 12 oz of warm water – depending on flour – King Arthur’s is very, very “thirsty” flour.
2 Tablespoons Vinegar.
I let the dough rise for about 14 – 16 hours over night. Knead it some more and let it rise once more in a parchment paper sling for two hours. Score the loaf with a sharp knife and dust with flour.
Preheat the oven and the iron pot to 500 F for at least 30 Min.
Transfer the scored dough ( in the sling) into the hot pot ,cover the pot and bake at 450 F for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake another 25 minutes.
Take out of the pot, cover the top only with alum foil and bake another 10 minutes . This will make it easier to cut the crust. Turn the oven off and wrap bread in a clean dish towel and return to oven until bread is cold.
I store the bread double wrapped in (two) zip-lock bags.
Your bread looks delicious! Happy baking, happy eating and happy camping!
Hi Eric & Breadtopia Clan,
Thought it would be great to be able to have fresh baked bread on an upcoming extended camping holiday in remote areas, (i.e. without shops).
First tried a conventional loaf in a 9 by 5 bread tin in my 9 quart camp oven, (for all initial trials I just put camp oven into LPG gas oven) the top of the loaf burned, hitting the lid…. Occurred too, that vigorous kneading would be detrimental to flimsy camp table.
Time to start internet search! Found No-Knead recipe & thought all problems were solved. Results were good, but felt inept with the very wet dough.
Then on You-Tube I found you (Eric) then Breadtopia & finally my answer, CI ANK! I felt more functional with the dough, & still able to gain a little kneading fix.
Did a few more trials with the smaller camp oven (41/2 quart) in the conventional oven, simply by using it as a Dutch oven.
Ultimately I used Beatrix’s W/W recipe for the real test, using hot coals from the fire as the heat source. Decided to put the smaller oven inside the large one, also put an oven thermometer in the little oven during the ½ hour pre-heat . Surprisingly the temp was only 370 F when I lowered the dough in (& unfortunately had to take thermometer out as there was no room for it). Anyway I went with it & checked in 15 mins. the loaf had risen & browning so left (inner) lid on, checked again in 15 mins. the loaf looked done! Inserted a meat thermometer read over 190. All done in 30 minutes! Can only assume the temp must have kept rising.
Very nice result, thank you Beatrix for the variation, thanks also to Kirsty, June & Amy for your variations.
Speaking of variations…. Eva have you had any more success with your “Rye & 10 Grains”? Do you soak the grains? I see you don’t use vital wheat gluten?
Thank you Eric & your friendly & helpful site,
Happy, Healthful & Prosperous New Year to all.
*Click to enlarge
Hello Cindi, This makes one loaf in a 7.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 inch loaf tin. I often vary the recipie to suit my whim of the moment. Anything from 2:1 to 1:2 Wholemeal to white flour works fine. I sometimes use instant yeast and occasionally make a sourdough version. The only thing that I am fussy about is hydration. Water is always 65 to 70% of the weight of flour.
Season’s greetings.
Andy.
Andy,
Sounds good to me. How many loaves does this make?
Thanks!
Cindi (Houston, TX)
Hi from England. Just to say, I use an adapted version of this method for my everyday bread needs. I find it produces great bread with the least effort, quicker and less messy than the no knead method, all in all, the perfect home baked bread for the idle man! As I make lots of sandwiches and toast, I require user friendly bread which holds together, not too crumbly, which is a convenient shape for sandwiches and will fit in my toaster with no hassle or wasted space, so I make mostly sandwich loaves. The recepie is:
300g stoneground wholemeal bread flour,
200g white bread flour,
4 t (teaspoons) cannola oil
0.5 t dried yeast, proofed.
4t brown sugar
1.5t salt
350ml warm water
Put water, 1 t sugar and yeast in a container and leave 10 mins or so, until starting to froth.
Mix all other ingredients in a bowl.
Stir in the water/ yeast mixture and mix well.
Cover and leave in a cool place for 8 to 24 hours.
Tip onto floured surface and knead a few times until the dough feels even.
Shape and place in greased bread tin, leave to rise.
When risen, put in cold oven, turn to around 350 to 400 degrees, bake until internal temp is 210 F or 95 C, about 45 to 50 mins.
Note there’s no beer or anything fancy. This is a no nonesense method for making good bread with absolutely minimum effort. This bread can also be baked in a Dutch oven or just on a baking sheet, with good results every time. I start with a cold oven because it’s less hassle, preheat if you like!
Thanks, Eric, for a great site,
Andy.
I forgot to mention in my last post, if you guys in the ‘States’ really want to get a ‘kick’! out of adding ‘BOTTLED CONDITIONED BEER’ to your dough then look no further than ‘SIERRA NEVADA PALE ALE’ produced by the brewery of the same name. What you don’t use you can drink, but after you have made your BREAD! and I suggest that you sit down, as it is rather more-ish, how do I know, well, it is imported in to the UK. Talk about ‘COALS TO NEWCASTLE’ or ‘FRIDGES TO THE ESKIMOS’( if you don’t know the former expression) I can guarantee you will not use ‘just any old beer’ after you have tried this one in particular
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you ALL
JAMES SMART
DORSET
ENGLAND
ps
Eric; keep up the good work !
Thank you! I made the sandwich loaf and I love it. Much improved flavor and not much additional work. Thank you so much for clear directions.
Happy New Year too!
Minneapple
Talk about deja vous ! this Cooks illustrated version is mighty like one of my exiperiments ( see previous posts, back up the way) that I tried ( and continue you use) based on ANKB some time ago. still there Aint much new under the sun. and I would think that the majority of readers on Eric’s website like me are experimenters, and continue to search for the ‘HOLY GRAIL’ KEEP BAKING & A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
James SMART
DORSET
UK
ps- is also just wonderful using apple cider for the beer/vinegar liquid volume. Very happy people in my house the last 2 days.
I just made this bread using buttermilk instead of the beer and vinegar and it was really delicious. I had to up the yeast to 1/2 tsp because the first time I tried it, it didn’t rise enough. What a great recipe! It lends itself to all kinds of variations and experimentation.
Just made this bread with KAF AP and used red wine vinegar, omitted the beer, and subbed out my starter to make the difference in liquid volume.
Wow- I am currently stuffed on delectable crumb, crust and goat cheese.
Nice recipe Eric!
Shane,
I buy a quart of Miller High Life and keep it in the fridge for making bread. It is used directly from the fridge at whatever temperature it is and I’ve had great results. It will go flat before I use it up but that does not affect the results either so I don’t believe the carbonation has anything to do with the final product. After making the CI version for a couple years I have started doubling the recipe also with great results. I use my Dutch oven but have used my Anchor Hocking baking dishes with a cover in a pinch with fine results. Believe you will have best results with the oven or La Cloche and Breadtopia has the best prices I seen for the Cloche, in fact, it is on my Christmas list as I write this. Finally, I’ve just purchased the large dough wisk and it is a terrific product. Much easier getting the dough combined and much less mess in the process. Forgive the rhyme. Hope this helps you, we have not purchased commercial bread since I started making it according to CI.
Bob
Bonsall, CA
Another question, I don’t have a Dutch oven or a La Cloche Clay Baker. I will definitely be buying a La Cloche Clay Baker in the future, but for now can I get good results without any of these? Does anyone have any suggestions on achieving the best results without any of these accoutrements? Thank you!
In this recipe, it says the water should be at room temperature, but it doesn’t say if the lager should also be at room temperature. I assume it would be?
As a point of information the Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book (first printing circa 1984) has in it a very nice recipe for a yeasted cornmeal bread. This tidbit in response to Bruce’s post of March 1, 2008 in which he states he had not previously heard of such a bread recipe.
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