July 8, 2009 - 8:43am
no-knead bread is spongy
Hi all,
For the last few months I've ventured into the land of no-knead bread as per the NY Times article and recipe. I had tried the bread in the past and thought it was easy and delicious! Now that I've been making it regularly for the last 2 months or so, I still haven not figured out why it turns out so spongy. It has great flavor and the crust is great, but it's a bit soft in my opinion. What can I do to make it a bit more hardy? I have modified the recipe but haven't found the cause (added flour, used less water, added butter, added/removed sugar & salt, changed baking time and temp). I think it may have to do with the fact that it's just sitting around so long. Does that make sense?
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A lot of the No Knead breads bake inside a container, e.g. Dutch Oven, that's covered for the first 10 - 15 minutes or so. If you're using that method, you could try removing the lid sooner and maybe cook it a little longer or at a higher temp. (something like +25 degrees)
Thanks for the note -
Yes, I'm using a cast iron dutch oven. I normally leave the lid on for about 15-20 minutes and then bake for another 20-25. I suppose that I could try removing the lid earlier. I'll try that next time I make it and report on the progress!
One our two strech and folds during bulk fermentation might be helpful to improving the crumb structure. This is kind of like kneading...
Also, I've noticed sourdoughs that sit around a while tend to be a bit chewier, actually, although I've not really narrowed in on a cause...