A Bread A Day

Week Forty: One More Time

Jim Lahey’s no-knead method is so amazingly simple that it’s quite tempting to fiddle with it, making substitutions here and there, pushing the limits.  One of the more obvious changes is to swap the white flour for whole wheat.  It’s more nutritious, just as easy, and surely there can’t be that much difference, can there?   How hard could it be?

Plenty hard, as I found out.  Merely changing the flour to whole wheat resulted in a gray, flat loaf, with a gummy texture that tasted vaguely like despair.  So, to remedy that failure, I borrowed a few tricks from the best no-knead variation I made, Cook’s Illustrated’s almost no-knead bread, plus one from King Arthur Flour’s whole wheat sandwich bread.  I was unwilling to add any white flour back in, as I still wanted a 100% whole wheat bread, though that certainly would’ve helped things quite a lot.

For this attempt, I used half beer and half water for the liquid, similar to almost no-knead bread.  As suggested by the King Arthur recipe, I added a splash of orange juice, not for flavor, but to offset the bitterness that some whole wheat flours have.  This also provided a little acid, so I didn’t feel it necessary to add any vinegar, as the Cook’s Illustrated recipe does to improve the flavor.  I kept the method the same as the original no-knead bread, for consistency.

The result was absolutely improved.  That unappealing gray color was gone, replaced by a proper autumn-leaf brown.  The crumb was beautifully open, and the domed top spoke volumes about the far better oven-spring.  Flavor-wise, this bread was the clear winner between it and its predecessor.  The crust was appropriately thick, and the interior was tender.

However, this still isn’t the ultimate 100% whole wheat no-knead bread.  While the flavor was good, the texture was a bit coarse, lending a dryness to each bite.  The modifications I made to the recipe made worlds of difference, but it’s not quite there yet.  This whole wheat bread is good, and will certainly fit the bill if you must have a whole wheat no-knead bread, but there are finer whole-grain examples that take a shorter amount of time.

100% Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread, One More Time
Adapted from Jim Lahey, via The New York Times
Makes 1 round loaf

13½ ounces (3 cups) whole wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1½ teaspoons salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup light-flavored beer
2 tablespoons orange juice

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt.  Add the water, beer, and orange juice, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough sit at room temperature for at least 12 and up to 24 hours (but preferably about 18).

2.  The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.  Line a 10 inch skillet or any wide, shallow bowl with a large square of parchment paper.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself a few times, until it forms a roughly round shape.  A bench scraper helps greatly with this step.

3.  Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, and dust heavily with wheat bran or additional flour.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.  When it is ready, the dough will not readily spring back when poked gently with a fingertip.

4.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500º F.  Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (see note 1 below) in oven as it heats.  When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Transfer the dough to the pot by lifting the parchment by the edges, and carefully and quickly lowering the dough into the pot.  Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, but don’t worry about it too much; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.  Cover the pot with the lid and transfer the pot to the oven.  Reduce the oven temperature to 425º F, and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is well-browned.  An instant-read thermometer should register around 205º to 210º F when fully baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly, discarding the parchment.

Notes:
1.  Any heavy covered pot will do, be it cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, stainless steel, or ceramic.  As long as it’s oven-safe, it seems anything will do the trick.  If your chosen vessel has no lid, or if you’re concerned about the oven-safety of it, simply use aluminum foil instead, pressing it tightly (and carefully) around the preheated pot.

2.  My liquids (water, beer, and orange juice) were cold when I added them.  I’m not sure if that makes a whole lot of difference or not; proceed at your own discretion.

Week Thirty-Nine: No-Knead Bread Week

This last no-knead variation takes yesterday’s adaptation one step further: instead of simply adding different grains to subtly change the flavor, this version adds such generous amounts of parmesan and kalamata olives that the word “subtle” becomes truly ludicrous.

The one caveat here, of course, is to make sure you use both cheese and olive of good quality; if you do, you will be rewarded with a loaf vibrant with rich flavors.  Scrimp here, using that cardboard powder in the green-topped shaker or those poor black rings that emerge limp and pathetic from their can, and you’ll have insulted the very flour by suggesting it associate with such riff-raff.

Lest you hear this description and think you’ll be spending more to make this one loaf of bread than you might on a reasonably-priced bottle of wine, let me reassure you that there are some very fine and inexpensive options here.  While true Parmigiano-Reggiano would be exquisite in this application, the nuances of its delicate flavor would be a bit lost in baking; and besides, it often runs near $18 to $20 per pound.  I suggest reserving this for  grating over pasta, and seeking out something more like the nutty and buttery Argentine parmesan that my cheesemonger proffered, which cost less than half as much.

Keep in mind also that this bread, while quite delicious when made as the recipe is written, tends toward the indulgent, and no real harm could come from reducing the measure of cheese to fit the budget.  Better that than opting for an inferior cheese, I say.  And, of course, good-quality olives may be bought in bulk at many grocery stores these days, at a reasonable price.  You might even prefer the more concentrated taste of oil-cured olives, which taste like good olives turned up to eleven (meaning you can use fewer for just as much flavor punch).

This loaf ends up with a delightfully open crumb, especially considering the heft of the olives and cheese that could both weigh the bread down and make it more leaden.  The no-knead method, namely that long and gentle rise, gives the dough enough muscle to lift the added bulk with nonchalance.  The crust is not too thick and leathery, nor too thin and unable to stand up to the olives.  You’ll know that the parmesan is there not by sight, as the cheese melts invisibly into the structure of the bread, but by its unmistakable smell and taste.  A hint of whole wheat flour adds a little rustic texture to the crumb, which helps the texture better match the additions of cheese and olive.  Overall, this is a potent bread, and a great example of the no-knead method.

I hope you all have enjoyed this no-knead week as much as I have; it’s been nice to not have to clean my mixer every day.

Olive Parmesan No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Breadtopia
Makes 1 round loaf

13 ounces (2 3/4 cups) unbleached bread flour
3 ounces (2/3 cup) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
7 ounces grated fresh parmesan cheese
4 ounces (about 2/3 cup) pitted kalamata olives, cut lengthwise into quarters
1 3/4 cup water, at room temperature

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, yeast, and salt.  Grate in the cheese, and toss to combine.  Add the olives and water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough sit at room temperature for at least 12 and up to 24 hours (but preferably about 18).

2.  The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.  Line a 10 inch skillet or any wide, shallow bowl with a large square of parchment paper.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself a few times, until it forms a roughly round shape.  A bench scraper helps greatly with this step.

3.  Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, and dust heavily with additional flour (or wheat bran, if you like).  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.  When it is ready, the dough will not readily spring back when poked gently with a fingertip.

4.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500º F.  Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (see note 1 below) in oven as it heats, on a rack set to the lowest position.  When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Transfer the dough to the pot by lifting the parchment by the edges, and carefully and quickly lowering the dough into the pot.  Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, but don’t worry about it too much; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.  Cover the pot with the lid, and bake at 500º F for 30 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 425º F, remove the lid, and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is well-browned.  An instant-read thermometer should register around 205º to 210º F when fully baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly, discarding the parchment.

Notes:
1.  Any heavy covered pot will do, be it cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, stainless steel, or ceramic.  As long as it’s oven-safe, it seems anything will do the trick.  If your chosen vessel has no lid, or if you’re concerned about the oven-safety of it, simply use aluminum foil instead, pressing it tightly (and carefully) around the preheated pot.

2.  Be sure to use a good-quality parmesan cheese, as the flavor really shines here.

Week Thirty-Nine: No-Knead Bread Week

I do attract an astute crowd, don’t I?  A couple of sharp-minded readers totally predicted today’s recipe without even knowing it, in helpful response to the whole wheat no-knead bread fiasco.  For anyone who hasn’t tried it, this no-knead variation from Cook’s Illustrated is perhaps one of the most successful versions floating around; no wonder it came to their minds!

As someone who implicitly trusts Cook’s Illustrated (well, the old Cook’s Illustrated, anyway), I had to try this when I first saw it lo these many moons ago.  I remember being impressed then, and it did not disappoint this time either.  Addressing the two main complaints with the original no-knead bread, the too-thick crust and the mysterious lack of flavor, the wizards at Cook’s Illustrated tweaked the recipe a few ways.

First, they increased the oven preheating temperature, then reduce it as the loaf is put in the oven.  This initial blast of heat makes the crust set faster, and it therefore becomes thinner and more crisp than thick and chewy.  Second, to improve the flavor, they added a touch of vinegar and swapped some of the water for beer.  The vinegar, as you may recall from yesterday’s post, helps mimic the taste of a properly long-risen sourdough.  As for the beer, I previously deducedin a week of beer bread experiments that the malt in beer is extremely useful for flavor improvement.  (And it doesn’t hurt things that you’re now faced with the dilemma of disposing with the remaining 8 ounces of beer, either.)

Lastly, to improve upon the original no-knead bread, Cook’s Illustrated does the unthinkable: they knead the dough.  A bit!  Only just a bit!  (Hence the name.)  The kneading — obviously to anyone familiar with bread-making — develops the gluten.  In this particular case, it’s kneaded just barely enough to develop the gluten a tiny bit, and then time and natural fermentation processes take over.  This creates a more stable gluten network than is achieved without kneading; it isn’t kneaded to the point that the gluten becomes over-developed over the long rise, which would result in a tough and/or dense loaf.

The flavor of this almost no-knead bread is top notch, much improved over the original no-knead bread.  Though it’s not the most mind-blowing bread to ever grace my oven, it’s certainly quite good, and one I’d be proud to serve to guests.  (And at this point, I have a [bready] reputation to uphold.)  But then, Cook’s Illustrated didn’t set out to make the be-all, end-all of breads; they set out to enhance no-knead bread, and enhance it they have.

It’s hardly any more effort (is opening a beer effort?) than the original, and the results speak for themselves: complex, airy, crisp-crusted, gorgeously browned, crackling happily at you from the cooling rack….  This one has it all.  Give this variation a shot; I doubt you’ll look back.

Almost No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Makes 1 large round

14 ounces (3 cups) unbleached bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1½ teaspoons table salt
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water, at room temperature
1/2 cup (4 ounces) mild-flavored beer
1 tablespoon white vinegar

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt.  Add the water, beer, and vinegar, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough sit at room temperature for at least 8 and up to 18 hours, or until very risen and bubbly.

2.  Line a 10 inch skillet or any wide, shallow bowl with a large square of parchment paper.  Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and knead or fold it over on itself about 10 to 15 times, until it forms a roughly round shape.  A bench scraper may help with this step.

3.  Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, and dust heavily with wheat bran or additional flour.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.  When it is ready, the dough will not readily spring back when poked gently with a fingertip.

4.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500º F.  Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (see note 1 below) in oven as it heats, on a rack set to the lowest position.  When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Transfer the dough to the pot by lifting the parchment by the edges, and carefully and quickly lowering the dough into the pot.  Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, but don’t worry about it too much; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.  Cover the pot with the lid, place in the oven, and reduce the temperature to 425º F.  Bake covered for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is well-browned.  An instant-read thermometer should register around 205º to 210º F when fully baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly, discarding the parchment.

Notes:
1.  Any heavy covered pot will do, be it cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, stainless steel, or ceramic.  As long as it’s oven-safe, it seems anything will do the trick.  If your chosen vessel has no lid, or if you’re concerned about the oven-safety of it, simply use aluminum foil instead, pressing it tightly (and carefully) around the preheated pot.

PS - Happy National Punctuation Day to all my favorite punctuation marks!  I used as many as I could get away with today.  In honor of the day, here is an “appropriate” blog to “read”.

Week Thirty-Nine: No-Knead Bread Week

Okay, you’re sold on this whole “no-knead bread” thing.  You’re ready to try it out.  Problem is, you’re never in one spot long enough to make it through the whole twenty-odd hour process.  Or maybe you just want a homemade loaf of bread, but can’t be bothered to channel your inner Martha Stewart to get it.  Either way, what you need is no-knead bread, made fast.

Lucky for you, there’s an easy way to speed the process up: add more yeast.  The genius behind the original no-knead bread is the tiny bit of yeast used.  This little amount will leaven the bread, eventually - yeast will continue to grow and multiply forever, as long as the food supply and living conditions remain available and stable - but with no-knead bread, it takes the yeast so long to do that, it gives the dough ample opportunity to form a proper gluten network.  If you were to form the gluten by kneading instead, it would be highly over-developed by the time that little bit of yeast grew enough to actually leaven the dough.

But wait, you may ask, if we just add more yeast to no-knead bread, how does the gluten have enough time to form properly?  Well, unless you knead the dough, it won’t.  And since kneading would defeat the titular purpose of no-knead bread, I think that’s unacceptable.  So how do we get more gluten?

We add it.

Enter Vital Wheat Gluten, a substance that looks an awful lot like regular flour, but less powdery.  The name is actually a misnomer, since it’s not really gluten.  It’s simply wheat flour with most of the starch washed out, leaving mostly protein.  It’s these proteins that, when mixed with water, form gluten.  (For contrast, vital wheat gluten contains around 70% to 80% protein, compared to 10% to 12% in all-purpose flour).  Adding a bit of vital wheat gluten to no-knead dough makes for more gluten in less time, which means we can use less yeast.  Problem solved, right?

Almost.  Another issue with making bread quickly is that you generally lose flavor, as the enzymes and acids that make for the highly complex taste of great bread need time to develop.  So if we’re losing some of that flavor, we can turn to the old wives’ trick of adding a touch of white vinegar to the dough, which mimics the acidic taste of a long-rising sourdough.  I’m not joking; it really works.  It’s not perfect, but it certainly goes a long way towards helping the flavor of an otherwise lackluster dough.

So how does this fast no-knead bread turn out?  Impressively, is how.  It only took about 3 hours to rise the first time, as compared to 18 to 20 for the original no-knead bread.  I gave it about an hour for the second rise, not far off from the original recipe; by that time, the yeast was so active that the dough more than doubled in size.  This made for a very tall loaf, with plenty of open holes in the crumb.

The crust was comparable to the original recipe, that is, slightly thick, but pleasantly so, and not rock-hard.  The flavor, though, surprised me the most; I think it was much improved over the original.  It tasted creamy and complex, belying the speed and ease with which it was made.  I prefer this to the original no-knead bread on many levels: it’s faster, it tastes better, and it has a better texture inside.  What more could you want?

Quick No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, via The New York Times
Makes 1 round loaf

14 ounces (3 cups) unbleached bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (see note 2 below)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1½ cups water
1 teaspoon white vinegar

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, vital wheat gluten, yeast, and salt.  Add the water and vinegar, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, or until very risen and bubbly.

2.  Line a 10 inch skillet or any wide, shallow bowl with a large square of parchment paper.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself a few times, until it forms a roughly round shape.  A bench scraper helps greatly with this step.

3.  Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, and dust heavily with wheat bran or additional flour.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.  When it is ready, the dough will not readily spring back when poked gently with a fingertip.

4.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450º F.  Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (see note 1 below) in oven as it heats.  When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Transfer the dough to the pot by lifting the parchment by the edges, and carefully and quickly lowering the dough into the pot.  Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, but don’t worry about it too much; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.  Cover the pot with the lid, and bake at 450º F for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is well-browned.  An instant-read thermometer should register around 205º to 210º F when fully baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly, discarding the parchment.

Notes:
1.  Any heavy covered pot will do, be it cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, stainless steel, or ceramic.  As long as it’s oven-safe, it seems anything will do the trick.  If your chosen vessel has no lid, or if you’re concerned about the oven-safety of it, simply use aluminum foil instead, pressing it tightly (and carefully) around the preheated pot.

2.  Vital wheat gluten may be found at some natural or health food grocery stores (such as Whole Foods), specialty baking shops, or online at King Arthur Flour or Amazon.  I used Bob’s Red Mill brand.

Week Thirty-Nine: No-Knead Bread Week

[Oh my goodness, you guys!  I'm finally caught back up!]

Fixated as this nation is on whole-grain anything, the most logical variation on no-knead bread is to make a whole wheat version.  Normally, I would never try to adapt a white bread recipe to whole wheat by simply swapping all the white flour for whole wheat flour; this almost always results in a dense, flat bread, more suited to propping a door open than to eating.

The technical reasons are important here.  Whole wheat flour retains the bran of the wheat kernel, which essentially means that there are sharp little flakes in your dough.  As you knead, these sharp bits of bran act like tiny knives, cutting the gluten as it forms, under the pressure of your hand or dough hook.  Since it is the network of gluten that traps air in dough (giving you those lovely holes in the loaf), the lack of gluten means there is less air, meaning your bread comes out dense.

But!  In no-knead bread, the gluten isn’t formed by kneading, but by time and natural dough fermentation processes.  Ergo, if using whole wheat flour in a bread that requires no kneading, the gluten should gently form around the bran, as there is no pressure to force the bran through the gluten strands.  And when you do finally shape the loaf, the bran should have softened enough by absorbing water that it wouldn’t have the same knifely ability.

So, armed with this hypothesis, I swapped all the white flour for whole wheat.  Everything else stayed the same: yeast, salt, water, rising time, baking temperature, everything.  Result?

Good and not-so-good.  The good part was that I was right about the gluten and bran; there were indeed some very lovely holes in the crumb, bigger than you’d certainly expect from a 100% whole wheat bread.  But the not-so-good part was the flavor.  The lack thereof, actually.  The woeful lack thereof.  Familiar with the taste of wet cardboard?  You will be, after eating this bread.

The color turned an odd purpley shade (I don’t remember adding blueberries…), and the oven-spring was, shall we say, inadequate.  True, this flat, grayish bread did have a pleasant texture: barely coarse at all (though I do love a rustic, grainy bread), quite moist, with an appropriately sturdy crust.  But unless you’ve got ageusia and also happen to be blind, I don’t think you’ll appreciate this one much.

It’s not surprising that it reminded me of those ill-fated loaves of Grant Bread from a few weeks back; the methods are quite similar, though that recipe used more yeast.  Apparently, whole grain breads need something more than time and patience, which alone will improve nearly any white bread recipe.  This challenge certainly requires more study and perhaps a new approach; surely it can’t be that difficult to make a good no-knead whole grain bread.

Can it?

100% Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, via The New York Times
Makes 1 round loaf

13½ ounces (3 cups) whole wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1½ cups water

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt.  Add the water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough sit at room temperature for at least 12 and up to 24 hours (but preferably about 18).

2.  The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.  Line a 10 inch skillet or any wide, shallow bowl with a large square of parchment paper.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself a few times, until it forms a roughly round shape.  A bench scraper helps greatly with this step.

3.  Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, and dust heavily with wheat bran or additional flour.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.  When it is ready, the dough will not readily spring back when poked gently with a fingertip.

4.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450º F.  Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (see note 1 below) in oven as it heats.  When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Transfer the dough to the pot by lifting the parchment by the edges, and carefully and quickly lowering the dough into the pot.  Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, but don’t worry about it too much; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.  Cover the pot with the lid, and bake at 450º F for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is well-browned.  An instant-read thermometer should register around 205º to 210º F when fully baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly, discarding the parchment.

Notes:
1.  Any heavy covered pot will do, be it cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, stainless steel, or ceramic.  As long as it’s oven-safe, it seems anything will do the trick.  If your chosen vessel has no lid, or if you’re concerned about the oven-safety of it, simply use aluminum foil instead, pressing it tightly (and carefully) around the preheated pot.

Week Thirty-Nine: No-Knead Bread Week

Oh, you knew it was coming sooner or later.  Did anyone really think I was going to go the whole year without acknowledging the biggest ever stir in the breadmaking blogosphere, the phenomenon (to use a tired descriptor) that launched a million ovens to unexplored panary shores?  Feh.

Does the world really need another treatise on no-knead bread?

No.  No, it does not.

*Gallic shrug*

It was quite amazing, the reaction to this simple recipe.  Within days of publication, hundreds of no-knead posts appeared across the internet, and that Thanksgiving in New York City, there was a run on Dutch ovens and instant yeast that lasted through Christmas.  My own father sent me the recipe, a man who has about as much interest in baking his own bread as a cat does: they might enjoy it very much, but it’s probably not going to happen.

No-knead bread got people baking, people who never thought they could bake bread in a million years.  But for every encouraged and justly-proud novice, there was a mean-spirited epicure in the background, sniffing above all the hubub, “It’s not that good.”

And really, when you get right down to it, that little snit has a point.  Don’t get me wrong, I think no-knead bread is fabulous for what it’s done, for the quality of bread it has brought to American home cooking.  But objectively speaking, perhaps the crust might be a mote too thick, perhaps the crumb could be more open, perhaps the flavor could be a bit more complex.  All these nitpicky things aside, you will perhaps never find a bread so easy to make that produces such excellent results.

Enough has been written about the characteristics of this bread, so I’ll spare you that much.  (Is anyone reading this blog really a stranger to no-knead bread?)  I have made modifications to the original recipe, namely that I use parchment instead of cloth as a couche for the dough to rise on.  Maybe I’m the only one, but I never seem to have luck rising bread on fabric, no matter how heavily floured.  It always sticks.  So I use parchment instead, which here has the added benefit of not having to flip fragile risen dough upside down into the precise center of a 450º F pot.  Forgive my impudence, but I can’t really imagine why you’d do it any other way.

Today, I’m featuring the original no-knead bread, with the aforementioned change in technique.  In the following days, I’ll discuss variations on that theme, for those of you who (like me) just can’t resist fixing what ain’t broke.  Stay tuned!

Original No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, via The New York Times
Makes 1 round loaf

14 ounces (3 cups) unbleached bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1½ cups water

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt.  Add the water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough sit at room temperature for at least 12 and up to 24 hours (but preferably about 18).

2.  The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.  Line a 10 inch skillet or any wide, shallow bowl with a large square of parchment paper.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself a few times, until it forms a roughly round shape.  A bench scraper helps greatly with this step.

3.  Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined skillet, and dust heavily with wheat bran or additional flour.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.  When it is ready, the dough will not readily spring back when poked gently with a fingertip.

4.  At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450º F.  Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (see note 1 below) in oven as it heats.  When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Transfer the dough to the pot by lifting the parchment by the edges, and carefully and quickly lowering the dough into the pot.  Shake the pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed, but don’t worry about it too much; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.  Cover the pot with the lid, and bake at 450º F for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the loaf is well-browned.  An instant-read thermometer should register around 205º to 210º F when fully baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly, discarding the parchment.

Notes:
1.  Any heavy covered pot will do, be it cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, stainless steel, or ceramic.  As long as it’s oven-safe, it seems anything will do the trick.  If your chosen vessel has no lid, or if you’re concerned about the oven-safety of it, simply use aluminum foil instead, pressing it tightly (and carefully) around the preheated pot.

2.  If you don’t have bread flour on hand, you can certainly use all-purpose flour in its place.  In that case, you should use 13½ ounces instead (which still measures 3 cups).