Submitted by colinwhipple on September 17, 2008 - 6:14am
The NY Times no-knead recipe calls for a 6-8 quart baking container. Is that size really necessary? We don't have much storage space left in our kitchen, and I am reluctant to buy something that large if it is not needed.
My largest baking container with a lid is a 3-qt ceramic.
Colin
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4 qt works
Hi Colin,
The only covered bake-able pot I have is a 4 qt enameled pot and, for the most part, it has had more than sufficient space for the NYT no-knead. The only times the bread has hit the lid have been when I've done something random or unplanned, like adding a hefty dose of sourdough discards in addition to the full amount of flour and yeast. Gee, can't imagine why I ran out of room...
I'm not sure what a 3 qt looks like, in terms of size, but what the heck, I'd give it a try. Usually the loaf doesn't come to the top of mine, and that's with good oven spring.
Good luck; I sympathize with the desire to keep new toys to a minimum!
edh
Thank You
I was trying to figure out why such a large container was specified, and was wondering if having a volume of hot moist air between the cover and the top of the bread served some kind of baking function.
I should have stated that in my original post.
I use the ceramic insert of
I use the ceramic insert of a crockpot for this and it works perfectly. This is easily the best and most consistent bread I bake, even being lackadaisical with the measurements (using volume rather than weight for example).
No-knead Result
Here is the result. The crumb and texture were pretty.
The 3-qt baking container was barely large enough. The dough was very wet. Folding was very difficult, and forming it into a ball was a lost cause. Next time I will use less water.
I worked it around on the countertop a little while, pretending to fold it, and pushed it onto a piece of parchment paper, which I then put into a large bowl for the second rise. After 3 hours I started the oven, and put the dough into the baking dish, parchment paper included. I baked it forf the 30 minutes with the cover on, and about 18 more minutes uncovered.
Colin