January 20, 2017 - 3:53am
No Knead Bread - Sticky in Middle
I've been baking Jim Lahey's no Knead bread in a Lodge cast iron oven with margins success. The crust and flavor is generally great and the crumb looks nice.
My my problem is that the inside is a little sticky. I can't tell if that is from over hydration or not leaving it in the oven long enough. The recipe using flour by volume instead of weight, so I am not sure if I need to go a little heavier on the flour.
Internal temperature is reaching 210.
Thoughts?
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Would be high hydration and would need more time in the oven than lower hydration breads.
I'm not familiar when it comes to volume so can't work out the hydration for you but I think more time with the lid off would help.
Depending on factors like the flour used, loaf size et al, the crumb of a Lahey-style loaf can have various degrees of moistness and a somewhat gelatinous quality. So, what you perceive as sticky might be an issue but could be more or less "normal". A full description of your recipe and method plus a crumb shot might help.
2-1/2 cups KA APF, 1/2 cup rye, 1/4 tsp SAF premium, 1-1/4 tap salt, and 1-1/2 cups water.
Mixed in Cambro bucket, covered, and fermented for 12 hours.
Shaped and proofed for 90 minutes.
Preheated Lodge Dutch oven in oven to 500.
Put dough in Dutch oven on parchment paper.
30 minutes with lid on.
Removed lid and cooked another 15 minutes until 210+ in center.
Cooled for 2 hours.
Sliced off a piece. Great crust. A bit tacky in middle. Great after toating with a little butter.
There's no obvious reason to think your loaves aren't in the normal range. You might try looking around for photos and videos that show what other people's Lahey-method loaves look like so you can compare theirs with yours. Keep in mind that a loaf with 20% rye shouldn't be expected to look the same as an all-AP or BF one.