adventures in breadmaking
Posted on | November 7, 2008 | No Comments
i’ve been obsessed with the famous no-knead bread and i’ve even found time to start playing around with variations.
2/3 cup of prunes, soaked overnight with boiling water, a couple TBLSP honey, 1/3 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, mixed spice make a lovely addition to the basic recipe.
this makes a soft damp slightly dark loaf, spicy and fruity and not too sweet.
raisins instead of prunes also make a delicious bread.
a 1/3 cup of rolled oats added and 1/3 cup flour removed makes for a small textural change and a different flavour….slightly moister, denser, nuttier.
the cheese bread was a big hit: chopped scallion greens, dried italian herbs, grated parmesan and sharp cheddar. i didn’t measure, simply added stuff to the flour before mixing the dough.
if anyone missed the basic no-knead bread recipe from jim lahey, here it is:
3 cups white flour (i have been using a bread flour and it does make a difference in the gluten development)
¼ tsp dried instant yeast (yes, it is a tiny amount, but you have hours for it to ferment)
1 ¼ tsp salt….this is not quite tasty enough for us so i use 1.5 tsp sea salt
1 5/8 cup of water (i use our rainwater, right out of the tap, no special temperature)
mix dough quickly but thoroughly in a large bowl.
it will be quite damp and “shaggy”….not at all like a smooth bread dough.
cover (but not airtight) and let dough rest in a warmish place for 12 to 18 hours.
18 hours has been working out just fine for me.
the dough will be full of lovely little air bubbles and sort of stringy (this is the gluten doing it’s thing).
scrape dough gently onto a floured silicon sheet.
with floured hands, turn and fold dough a couple of times.
be gentle and don’t smash all the air out of the dough.
cover dough and leave for 15 minutes.
i’ve successfully used a plastic bag….a floured tea towel….a piece of cling film.
now gently form the dough into a ball, by stretching the dough and rolling it under and into itself.
if you have never done this before, get a baker friend to show you.
it is very simple to show and to do, but difficult to explain.
agan, watch the air bubbles.
don’t be mauling the dough!
now cover the dough again and after 90 minutes, it’s time to pre-heat the oven and the pot.
the recipe calls for a covered heavy 5 to 7 litre baking dish, like a le creuset enamelled dish or a pyrex casserole or similar.
i just use my usual big copper casserole with a tight lid.
place pot and lid in oven and pre-heat to 230 C.
my oven is a hot little toaster oven, and my pot isn’t super-heavy, so i just heat to 210 C and that works fine.
after 30 minutes of pre-heating, remove the pot from the oven.
turn your silicon sheet and dough upside down over the hot pot and gently lever the dough off the sheet and into the pot.
it won’t look pretty, but don’t panic.
shake the pot gently to distribute the dough and quickly clap the lid back on and shove the whole thing back into the oven.
let it cook for 30 minutes with lid on.
remove lid and let the bread cook for another 15 to 30 minutes….to brown and finish.
i have found 15 minutes adequate.
flip the bread out of the pot and onto a cooling rack.
it will have a wonderfully crisp crust, thanks to the wet dough and the closed pot to keep the steam in.
we wrap our cooled bread in a clean linen tea towel….not that storage is an issue.
the loaf is usually devoured before the day is out…..if we have visitors they all seem partial to a cup of tea and some fresh bread and butter too.
and that reminds me, i must buy more flour.
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