No-Knead Bread

Makes two small loaves*

This bread gets its great flavor from a long, slow overnight rise, using only a scant 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. If you use more yeast the dough will rise too quickly. Refrigerating the dough further improves the flavor and texture of the bread.

Steps:

1. Mix the flours yeast and salt in large bowl, add the water and mix just until all the flour is wet and incorporated. It shouldn't take more than a minute, you don't want to overwork it. A silicone bowl scraper is very handy for bringing up the dry flour from the bottom of the bowl.

2. Smear a little olive oil on a piece of plastic wrap. Lay it directly on the dough.

3. Let rise for overnight. You can bake the dough now if you wish, see note below.*

4. Deflate dough by folding it over on itself with the bowl scraper. Divide into two equal portions and place in zip lock bags and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to several days. Dough will rise slightly again in the zip lock bag.

5. On baking day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to warm in the zip lock bag on the counter for 30 minutes.

6. After the dough has warmed for 30 minutes, place a baking stone in the oven, and preheat at 450º F for 30 minutes. The dough will have warmed for an hour by now.

7. Remove the dough from the zip lock bag and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Handle it gently so you don't deflate it too much.

8. Gently flatten it into an oval about ¾ of an inch thick (you can dust the top with flour if you want the artisan bread look).

9. Put the dough and parchment paper in a cold 12-inch cast iron skillet. Place a lid on it. Let the paper stick out from under the lid.

10. Place the skillet on the stone and bake covered for 30 minutes.

11. Remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown. The internal temperature should be 205-210° F. 

*Notes: If baking immediately, place dough on parchment paper and then proceed to step 8. There is no need to warm the dough as it already is at room temperature. You may have to reduce the baking time a little. You can also bake one big loaf instead of two small ones. Adjust the baking time accordingly.

See more step-by-step instructions and  pictures here.

For several months now, I have been baking whole wheat breads based on recipes in Peter Reinhart's latest book. For the most part, I have met with success.

 I am now attempting to modify these recipes to accomplish two goals: to eliminate commercial yeast from my breads, and to simplify the baking schedule (which includes using less equipment, making less mess, and adjusting the rise times to occur while I'm at work).

I wanted to share some techniques with those of you who might have similar goals. It's quite simple, and probably nothing new to those of you who have been baking a while.

First, I followed Peter's recipes for whole wheat bread, replacing the "biga" with sourdough starter. Instead of adding yeast in the final mix, though, I simply let it rise all day while I was at work (about 10 hours). This accomplished two goals: first, obviously, no commercial yeast. Second, I was able to jump right into shaping when I got home, since the first rise was accomplished throughout the day. This cut a good 2-3 hours off my after-work baking schedule.

Second, instead of using baking stones, I preheated a large, cast-iron skillet in a 500F oven. This eliminated the need to use a utensil (like a peel or baking sheet) to transport the dough from the bowl to the oven, as well as eliminated the need for baking stones. Additionally, I think the skillet retains heat better than the baking stones, and since the transfer needs to take place outside the oven, I think it actually gives the dough a bit of a head start on rising. You get all the benefits of "oven spring," but without having to worry about the bread forming a crust too soon.

I tried this for the first time yesterday, and ended up with my first loaf of whole wheat bread made entirely without commercial starter. The crumb was moist and full of holes, but not grainy, mushy, or too chewy. My only complaint is that the bread was much too tart for my own taste. It really overwhelmed all the other flavors. It wasn't bad, but it's just not to my liking. I'm not sure if this is due to the long, 10-hour rise, or to an overly-acidic starter. I'm inclined to believe the latter, because my starter smelled very strongly of alcohol and vinegar. However, it rose beautifully, so I know it's active.

Anyway, please let me know what you think!

Thanks!

Joseph