My No-Knead Bread stuck Big Time.
I am new to the "No-Knead process" of making breads. I recently bought the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Today, I made two long 1.25# loaves from my Peasant Bread dough which had been in the fridge for 9 days. I wanted to test the dough, flavor, rising,...by leaving it in the fridge this long. The dough was very "wet" to handle, and I folded it quite a few times, very lightly adding flour, to make the dough feel silky & not sticky. I did not knead it. Since it looked still "wet", I rolled the fat "baguettes" in a light flour coating, and set them in my excellent-quality non-stick French bread pans (was afraid to put these directly on the stone,..even if covered with cornmeal). I let the dough rest for 50 minutes. They rose some, even though the dough was still quite cold. I baked them at 425 degrees convection for 29 minutes. The oven spring was superb. The crumb is what I wanted, "custardy". The loaves are excellent in color and flavor. But they stuck horridly to my good pans, resulting in a lousy appearance. Should I have added more flour, and risked losing the open crumb? Should I have oiled my great pans? (I have never done so in the past). Would these loaves have stuck to parchment as bad as they did to my quality pans...? I didn't wan't to add too much flour. I don't use products like PAM. The bread is great,....but .......
I'd have suggested using parchment to prevent them from sticking to the pan's surface. Very wet dough will stick to just about anything, even "non-stick" baking sheets.
Flournwater ...I will try parchment with the next batch. It would be nice, to NOT curse over soaking the baking pan. Thanks, to the rest of the people who suggested using parchment paper. I have never used parchment much, except for making "baking packets" of fish, etc for the oven. Don't have much experience with parchment paper.
i use this dough all the time and i jus spray everything with oil spray. never sticks. lately ive been baking it inside lidded pots on parched gets great ovenspring.
I have baked this on parchment and in a clay baker and haven't had any sticking. I have not used any sort of lubricant.
I also left it wet. I didn't add any flour or do any stretch and folds. The only flour I added was to the surface to prevent sticking to my hands.
Whenever I do the no-knead thing [seldom these days] I use stoneware cloches. But -- any dutch oven will work well, too.
Bring the cloche or DO to 450F for 45 minutes.
Take your wet dough and just toss it in! Plop! Wet dough + sizzling hot DO == no stick! Have faith!
Score the top, put the lid on, close the oven, and immediately drop the oven temp to 425F... for 20 minutes.
Then, remove the lid -- reduce the temp to 375F - 390F [experiment, depends on what type of cloche/DO you're using]... for another 20 minutes.
That's it -- You're done. Internal temp should be very close to target 205F
Some baking sites say to have the DO at 550F -- but whenever I have tried this, I get burned bread
I have used
Make sure they all have lids... this isn't an open-top kind-a thing. The dough emits steam, which is held close to the bread within the cloche, and voila! Nice crispy crust!
To soften [and increase taste] crust, brush melted butter over the bread immediately upon removing from the oven.
Good luck!
~ Broc
Broc, rolls, and ermaborn...the concept of cooking inside a covered dutch oven, or covered clay vessel just scares the heck outa me. I will also try it, ...in my ancient, well-seasoned Griswold (Wagner) dutch oven. I will try to be brave. I WILL try to be brave.....
Have Faith, Grashopper! May the Force be with You!
Dutch oven @ 350F -- it's gonna stick.
Dutch oven @ 450F -- you're gonna be delighted!
Do not oil, grease, add flour or anything to the DO. Dough on screaming hot metal == Nirvana.
Works the same with clay vessels, stoneware... I've never tried it with Corning ware... would be scared to because of the chance of the glass fracturing.
Just did two loaves [not no-knead, but hi-hydration] today... I have two cloches... Eru's gift to bread bakers.
As we say in Middle-earth, "May the hair on your toes grow ever longer!"
~ Broc
I have used corning ware as a dutch oven at 500 and dropped temp down to 450 after it was loaded. I use a glass top no problem. I have not used pyrex bowl. Not that I am leary of using because of the glass.
Mariah
I am new to breadmaking, but I just wanted to add that I use a Cuisinart 2 quart saucepan with lid...lol. Both can go in the oven. I sprinkle cornmeal [very lightly] in the bottom of the pan AFTER it has been in a pre-heated 500 degree oven. When I am ready to put the bread in, I toss in the cornmeal, then plop in the bread, then cover. Don't be afraid of the cover. This is what makes the bread REALLY crispy on the outside. The cover traps in the steam for the first 30 min and prevents burning. The second time-frame of 20 minutes is to finish off the baking and give the bread that wonderful golden brown color.
If you don't want to use cornmeal, nor fat, I would suggest getting a reusable piece of parchment, cut it to fit the pan you use to bake the bread in and voila! Saves money in the long run, and is much better than baking on Silicone.
Good luck!
Maddy
Maddy --
Preheating to 500F [even 450F] -- no need for parchment, cornmeal... nada! Just let it pre-heat for maybe 45 minutes, so you know it's screamin' hot!
I know -- when I first tried this [about two years ago], it was a leap of faith. Now, I don't even think about it.
~ B
Thanks, for the further input. Tomorrow,..I will try baking in my VERY hot old Griswold (Wagner) Dutch oven. Think I will skip the parchment, or parchment "liner" in the bottom of the pan. Might as well go for broke? Let's hope this works..! Will let all know, if it is a success.
Thanks Broc. I think you are right. It is the same principle when putting meat in a hot and oiled stainless steel pan. If you try to lift it too soon, it is stuck, but if you wait long enough, it will release with a perfect golden brown crust.
I think the bread is similar. I am going for broke too next time! No corn meal. JUST THE BREAD! WOO HOOO!
[we are all so funny for getting so psyched about bread. My family thinks I am a bit wierd:-)]
But -- if your family thinks you're weird...
My wife still buys bread at the store... but my neighbors all love me!
Go figure! :)
Just turned my premier No-Knead-Dutch-Oven-loaf out of its red hot pan. I was still doubtful of the lax, soft dough NOT sticking. It looked pretty pitiful in its "slump", off-center in my old cast iron D.O. (Gotta work on getting the dough in the center...a real rookie-look to my sloppy job). Dough still stuck to the parchment that I had it resting on for 30 minutes.
Broc, I followed your suggested temps, and times, but extended the uncovered portion of the cooking for 10 more min (at 350 degrees) as this was 2 # of dough. I couldn't believe the transformation when I first took off the hot lid. Amazing...I had a nice, fat, domed loaf (oven spring was great). Better yet,...the bread easily came out of the cast iron pot. Looked/sounded done (I go by the old method of thumping the bottom of the loaf). Looks wonderful...but too hot to eat. Thanks,....all..for the great advice. Gonna do this again.
It worked like a charm in my teflon AND my stainless steel pots! So psyched to not have to buy a special pot. Thanks for the confidence building, Broc!
M.
But -- that said, my friends -- This is about the last time you'll be able to thank me, as everyone and their dog on this site knows more about baking than I. Coming here, I realize how very much I have to learn.
Have just started Testing for Peter Reinhart.... hope to continue learning. I'd love to bake his instructions for six months, then have him all alone for a few hours to pick his brain.
Ain't the crust just sooper spiffy when cooking in a cloche or DO? Be sure to butter it right away, when it's piping hot, and you'll be in crust-heaven!
FWIW -- I love my digital thermometer. I'm far too insensitive to know if the bread's done by the thumper-bumper method. I just flip that puppy over and insert that probe into some lonely looking... seam... and aim for 200F to 205F. Then I know it's done, and moist!
I nearly have an anxiety attack waiting the hour for it to cool!
Best to all!
~ Broc