Comments on: No Knead Recipe Variations

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:01:59 +0000

I have made the cranberry pecan bread two times now, but no one else in my house appreciates nuts the way I do. So after watching the latest video on the NK rye loaf where you use the zest of an orange, it gave me an idea. I replaced the nuts in the cranberry bread with the zest of a whole orange and used almost a whole cup of cranberries. The result was incredible! The smell was wonderful, and it was one of the highest loaves I’ve produced so far, not sure why. Maybe the natural sugars contributed to this? The color was beautiful as well, I should have taken a picture. Anyway the most important thing is that everyone in my house tasted the bread and loved it! It is a delicious bread for breakfast. The family favorite was toasted with cream cheese. I hope you try this, you won’t be disappointed!

By: Breadtopia

Breadtopia — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:45:27 +0000

Hi Betsy,

What you did should work fine. You can always add more flour to thicken it up if you want. Whether or not you remove some when you feed it has more to do with how much you have on hand. If you’re baking frequently enough, and consequently using up starter, you might not have to dispose of any. But if you’re not baking you still need to feed your starter to keep it happy, so it might be necessary to remove some just so you don’t end up with a boat load of it.

There’s a lot of flexibility in how you manage your starter. You’ll find a routine that works for you.

By: Betsy Carey

Betsy Carey — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:24:43 +0000

Dear Eric,
I’ve been enjoying your videos and have decided to resurrect the starter that hasn’t been used in maybe a year. I had gotten it from Carl and it was doing fine until I got too busy. Also, I got a little lazy and had success with Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I’m now ready to try baking without commercial yeast. I poured off the “hooch” which was dark but just smelled like alcohol–I’m assuming that it’s still okay. Before watching your video, I scooped out about 1/4 cup and added 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup warm water. I thought I’d start small. After seeing your video, I realize that I should have used somewhat less water. Do I need to remove some starter each time when adding flour and water? It appears that it’s still bubbly and hasn’t died yet. Wow!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I think I want to make a rye or spelt combination bread.
Betsy

By: Mitch

Mitch — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:08:58 +0000

Toad,
When I read this I laughed out loud. Clearly, I was so terrified I couldn’t even think straight!!!
Mitch

By: Toad

Toad — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:00:37 +0000

Mitch wrote to Jim on Jan. 1, 2010 that he’d be ‘terrified to leave raw eggs sitting out for some 12-18 years…’ It made me laugh. He meant hours, of course.

By: kate

kate — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:42:17 +0000

Milk, eggs and oil soften a breads crumb. Using any of these ingredients in your bread recipe will significantly change the character of your bread. The bread will have a better keeping quality but not have as crunchy of a crust as bread made without any oil. This isn’t necessarily negative, just different than the plain, no oil version.

By: Jeff B.

Jeff B. — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:24:39 +0000

Wouldn’t the baking temperature kill off anything from the eggs? Seems like 202 degree finish temperature of the bread is hot enough to kill anything.

On another note, I settled on my bread storage. I often bake several loaves at once. Sometimes I freeze them, but when I don’t storage is an issue. But I found that if I put the bread in a paper bag after at has fully cooled, and then transfer to plastic after another day or so, that the crust and the bread are both preserved appropriately.

By: Jim Roe

Jim Roe — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:10:02 +0000

Substituting Milk for water

Similar to the prvious note, I came across this comment:

Replacing all or part of the water with milk will lend itself to a more tender, sweeter product. The sugar in milk, lactose, is not eaten by the yeast, so it is left to add a subtle sweetness to the finished bread. Milk also increases the nutritional value of the bread by adding additional proteins. A dough made with milk will brown more readily than one made with water.

I have also noted the use of powdered skim milk in some recipes.

Suggestions? Comments?

By: Wil

Wil — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:00:52 +0000

I should have mentioned, I also proof my bread in the refrigerator a day or two before I bake. The longest my dough is on the counter is only about an hour.

By: Hedy

Hedy — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:17:57 +0000

I make Challa every week. I use eggs in my dough. This is not a Nkb recipe. I make the dough the night before in my bread machine and then put it in the fridge in a greased plastic bread. In the morning, 7:30 a.m. I take the dough out and leave it on the counter until 5 p.m. until I return, when I can punch it down, braid and shape, and let rise again for about one hour. We have never gotten food poisoning. It actually comes out great. Hope this helps.