Third loaf –
This is my third time trying the “No-Knead Bread” method outlined in the New York Times article of November ‘06 by Mark Bittman, in which he describes the bread-making technique developed by Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery. I’ve adapted it slightly, using more flour to get a bigger loaf since my Dutch oven is big enough that the smaller dough spread out and not as “up” as I would like. I’m also using a non-hydrogenated shortening on a baking sheet and in a mixing bowl when letting the dough rise instead of using flour to prevent sticking, because I found that it worked better for me. (The shortening I’m using is Smart Balance.) I’m so grateful and excited to have found out about this bread-making technique!
I made a shaggy dough (quite moist but not wet, much like a batter dough but just slightly drier) using 2 cups (scooped straight from the bag of flour) of whole wheat flour and 3 cups (ditto) of unbleached flour, 2 ts salt, rounded 1/4 ts active dry yeast straight from a jar in the freezer, and as much water (I didn’t measure it) as needed to get the dough the way I wanted. I whisked the dry stuff together, then stirred in the tepid water using a silicone spatula, and covered the bowl with plastic wrap. This was at around 1 PM yesterday afternoon.
I know a lot of bakers prefer to weigh ingredients, and to know precisely to what degree their dough is hydrated. That’s just more fussing than I care to do. I like to make bread by feel more than anything else, so I did this bread the way I tend to do sourdough — by eyeballing it and using my hands as guides. Sorry! I know that makes it hard for someone else to know exactly what I’m saying in some cases.
By 11 PM last night, the dough had raised so much that I knew it wouldn’t last til morning, so I stirred it down (kinda stirred, and kinda simply jabbed it down with the spatula.) I also asked Danny to please do the same before he went to bed, knowing that he’d be up til at least 4 AM. He says it was around 5 AM when he did so.
I checked on the dough this morning at around 10 AM and it was high and very bubbly. I greased a baking sheet with shortening, and scraped/dumped the dough out onto it. Greased my hands a bit, and folded the dough over on itself for about 4 - 5 folds, careful not to press the air out of it. Covered it lightly with the plastic wrap, and left for another 15 minutes. I greased a bowl and dusted it with conrmeal. After the 15 minutes, I gently shaped the dough into a ball by using my greased hands to fold up the sides to the top and then gently pinching the top together — trying to maintain the air in the dough as I worked. I then plopped this dough ball seam side down into the cornmeal dusted bowl, covered it with plastic wrap and a tea towel, and let it rise again til doubled.
When I saw that it was coming up to double size, I put the cast iron Dutch oven into the oven, and set the lid in there, too. Turned heat to 450 degrees, and let the pot heat up. When the oven was heated, I sprayed the top of the dough ball with some Pam spray (this would turn out to be the bottom of the loaf.) I took the bowl of dough to the stove, and carefully pulled the bottom rack with the Dutch oven out far enough that I could tip the mixing bowl upside down over it. The dough came out of the bowl perfectly, no sticking at all, and the top was nicely crusted (lightly) with cornmeal. I gave the Dutch oven a couple quick shakes (being careful to grab it with hotpads, not bare hands) to settle the dough into the pot, and popped the lid on the pot. Pushed the rack back in, closed the oven door.
I baked it for 30 minutes at 450 degrees with the lid on, then another 30 minutes with the lid off. Removed it from the oven and tipped it out onto my wooden board, then set the pot aside. I righted the loaf, and set it on a cooling rack to cool, so the bottom crust wouldn’t get soft from steam by cooling on the board.
We just tasted it after it has cooled for about 90 minutes, and it’s wonderful, with a nicely crisp crust that gives a good chew, and the inside has a holey texture but not so many huge holes that it seems “off.” It’s chewy, with a good bite to it, but is also light, not dense and heavy, despite the addition of the whole wheat flour. I’ll try to get a pic of the inside after we’ve cut more slices off it later tonight. (I’m making a pot of chili to have with slices of bread.)
I’ll keep experimenting, but this is by far my best “rustic” loaf yet, and I think the use of the baking sheet and the greased and cornmeal-dusted bowl really helped a lot — no sticking at all, and much easier to work with. I’m very happy! I’ve always made great bread, but could never get a crispy/chewy crust. This method works wonderfully for me!
PS — Oh bugger! I’ve tried and tried to get a pic of the bread added to this post, and I can’t seem to figure out how to do it. I have no idea how I ever got the other images on the previous posts. This drives me batty. I’ll keep trying, but if no image ever shows up on here, don’t be at all amazed.
