I've been baking the no knead bread for about 3 yrs now from the original recipe of Jim Lahey. I've had real good luck with this recipe and used it for Ciabatta, Focaccia and pizza dough. I also have Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois's book Artisan Bread in 5 min a Day. I never tried their method till yesterday. I now know why. Although you have enough dough for 2-4 loaves of bread in the fridge, that particular dough is only good for being the master recipe or basic. I took out a portion of the dough to make olive bread but found I had to incorporate the olives, rosemary and oil in the cold dough. The dough never rose like Lahey's dough so it was kind of dense maybe from being cold. Lahey's dough method is made for a peticular recipe. I believe I prefer making no knead dough to suit a recipe as in the basic no knead method. I have made Lahey's dough and could not bake it the next day, put it in the fridge and baked it 2 days later with no problem. 

Another thought is the Artisan method, you cut off a piece "the size of a grapefruit". To me this is not to exact and with Lahey's method, you know 3 cups flour, 1.5 c water etc goes in a 5 qt dutch oven for X amount of time. This is a science. The sizing "grapefruit" can vary so therefore I would imagine baking times would change.

I would like to get your opinions and maybe I can elaborate more as to my findings.

Hi everyone,

I'm traveling right now in a bit of a bread wasteland and am looking to bake up some of Jim Lahey's lovely stirato; alas, my copy of his "My Bread" is back home.  Is there a kind soul out there that might be able to share the details?  Crib notes version would be fine! Thanks so much in advance - you can also email me at jdbaron at gmail dot com.

Last night my husband and I enjoyed the pizza patate that was posted by Sam Fromartz a few days ago--he showed his pizza (from Jim Lahey). I could not get that potato-topped yum off my mind! It was amazing, everything a potato lover would want, and made for a wonderful dinner--thanks so much! And, as Sam points out--if you are worried about there being too many carbs--the crust is really thin and bakes up crisp--providing a lovely contrast to the potatoes! I posted photos on my blog! http://veganthyme.blogspot.com

Anybody read My Bread by Jim Lahey? Some one on another site called him a"genius". How is the book?  Patrick

This fall there are three heavyweights releasing books about easy artisan baking: Peter Reinhart is releasing his Artisan Breads Every Day, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François are following up their Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day with Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day , and Jim Lahey's book My Bread has just come out.

Jim is the founder of New York City's Sullivan Street Bakery and the inspiration for Mark Bittman's famous No-Knead Bread formula that ran in the New York Times three years ago.  My Bread begins with the basic "bread in a pot" no-knead recipe but expands upon it considerably.  He includes formulas (with both weights and measures) for rye, whole wheat, olive, walnut, and cheese variations of the no-knead bread. Lahey was inspired by Italian breads, so his book includes numerous pizza and focaccia recipes.  Other interesting sounding recipes  in the book include "Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread" and a Carrot Bread.  There is a long chapter on sandwiches that include his recipes for fillings such as Rosemary Roast Beef, Citrus Roast Pork, and Marinated Eggplant and Beets.  Soup and panini recipes are included in the book as well, giving you most everything you would need to run a top-notch neighborhood cafe.

Fan of Sullivan Street Bakery or folks who love the "bread in a pot" no-knead technique will certainly enjoy Lahey's book.   My Bread has much to offer other bakers too and sets a high bar for the other upcoming releases.

I debated between naming this thread Jim Lahey's Popeye Pizza, and Jim Lahey's No-Knead Pizza Dough. But since Jim Lahey's name is practically synonymous with "no-knead," maybe the latter is redundant. Anyway, it's green, and St. Patty's day is this week, so I thought I'd share.

Click here: Popeye Pizza   (the video is worth watching)

I made this pizza a week or two ago, right after I saw the show. I printed out the recipe, and when I got to the salt and yeast, I ran into problems. My instructions said 1/8 tsp yeast and 1/8 tsp salt, but I clearly remembered him adding 1/2 tsp salt. I haven't made pizza in years, and toppings tend to be salty, so I wasn't sure what was customary. I decided to trust Jim and I put in 1/2 tsp. And then my dough didn't rise, so I ended up making something else for dinner that night.

The next day I started earlier, but decided to go by the printout and use 1/8 tsp. It still took longer to rise, but the dough was a joy to stretch out, and the pizza baked up thin and crispy---just the way I like it. Except that the crust tasted bland. Otherwise, the pizza was pretty good. Roasted spinach is interesting. Thin and papery, but nice mild flavor. It's different, but I'd make it again. Looked just like the one in the picture, except that I forgot to drizzle on the olive oil before serving.

A week later, I decided to try the dough in a more familiar pizza with red sauce. I doubled the salt and yeast (1/4 tsp each) and it was still bland. Also the pizza sauce made it soggy. I think I prefer thin pizza without the sauce. At this point I went back to the website for another printout, to find the amounts on salt and yeast now say 1/4 tsp. Yes, I put the two side-by-side to make sure I wasn't going crazy. They corrected the amounts, but this still can't be right.

In the video, JL puts in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp yeast. What sounds right to to you all?