It's still a very good loaf of bread, at about a little longer than it would take for your bread machine to produce a loaf that, let's be honest... looks and tastes like school cafeteria food in comparison. Plus, you have the bragging rights to say you created the loaf yourself. Because the rise and proofing times aren't nearly as long, the gluten doesn't have as much time to develop flavour and that gorgeous swiss cheese texture a good artisan bread can produce. Still, you get a bread that's nearly 4" in the centre (large enough for cold cuts), with a soft, spongy, springy centre, and a very crispy, chewy crust.
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| Active Dry Yeast |
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| Active Dry Yeast |
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| Active Dry Yeast |
A Word About Measurements: When baking, not paying attention to details can sometimes mean the difference between success and disaster. I am speaking of course, about measurements. For example, did you know that not all measuring spoons measure alike? I learned that when I suspected my metal dollar store measuring spoons were significantly larger than my metal "America Cooks" brand spoons. And they were. One teaspoon should equal 5 ml. liquid, and the dollar store spoons gave more than that. (Though price may not necessarily indicate accuracy). When a difference of 1/4 of a teaspoon (of yeast) can throw a recipe off, accuracy can be important.
Same with measuring cups. My good quality "America Cooks" metal dry measure measuring cups gave me 159-160 grams of AP flour, versus 145 grams of my plastic Ecko dry measure measuring scoops. As one cup of AP flour should equal 5 - 5.5 oz., the metal measuring cups were giving me about 15g too much flour per cup. Multiply this error by 3 or 4 (cups for a recipe), and 60 grams is a significant difference in the quantity of flour needed for a recipe. That can end up with undesirable results. So when baking bread, it helps to know your measures.
Ingredients
2 t instant dry yeast or 2 1/2 t active dry yeast
1 1/2 t salt (preferably coarse or kosher)
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 x cornmeal (optional)
1 1/2 c water
Mix:
Instant Dry Yeast instructions:
- Add the 3 1/4 cups flour and salt to the liquid mixture. (Tip: Always use a knife to stir the flour well in your container, before putting it in the measuring cup. This ensures you have the right proportions of flour. Overfill the measuring cup, then use the knife to level off the flour).
- Using a rubber spatula, turn the bowl with one hand as you scrape the flour off the sides and slowly incorporate it into the liquid. Reach down frequently into the bottom with the spatula, gently bring it up to incorporate the flour into the mix. Do not overmix! Just mix the flour into the water, turning the dough with the spatula, until most of the dry spots are gone. (n.b. You do not need to shape it into a ball. It will be fine as it is, a somewhat messy looking lump of dough. If you see air bubbles in it, even better).
Active Dry Yeast instructions:
- Pour in 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water in a large glass, ceramic or plastic bowl, preferably glass or ceramic. (Optional: Pour a little bit of olive oil in first, rub this with your fingers all around the bowl, then add the liquid. This should help with the rising process, and add flavour).
- Next, add yeast and salt, mix well to combine.
- Add the 3 1/4 cups flour to the liquid mixture. (Tip: Always use a knife to stir the flour well in your container, before putting it in the measuring cup. This ensures you have the right proportions of flour. Overfill the measuring cup, then use the knife to level off the flour).
- Using a rubber spatula, turn the bowl with one hand as you scrape the flour off the sides and slowly incorporate it into the liquid. Reach down frequently into the bottom with the spatula, gently bring it up to incorporate the flour into the mix. Do not overmix! Just mix the flour into the water, turning the dough with the spatula, until most of the dry spots are gone. (n.b. You do not need to shape it into a ball. It will be fine as it is, a somewhat messy looking lump of dough. If you see air bubbles in it, even better).
First Rise:
Cover the bowl with a dinner plate, making sure to leave a small gap to allow air to pass. You can place this in your regular oven (preferably with the light on) or microwave oven, to help it rise. Allow it to sit for two hours minimum (although the longer the better, if you have extra patience). (n.b. The images on this page show a bread developed with a 2 hour first rise, and 45 minute second rise).
Second rise:
- Dump the dough from the bowl on to a floured surface, and shape it so that it has a round top with a flat bottom, by turning it around the edges with your hands. Flip over and do the same on that side, shaping it into a round dome with a flat bottom. (n.b. You are only doing light, brief manipulation of the dough, here. No kneading or full shaping is involved). n.b. If the dough is very sticky and difficult to work with, no matter how much you flour the surface, then it was initially undermixed. In this case, return it to the oiled bowl from its first rise. Continue to turn and work the dough into itself with your spatula, punching and flattening the ball with the spatula, until the dough scrapes off the residues on the sides of the bowl.
- Rub oil all around the inside of a 5qt. dutch oven (raw or enamelled cast iron pot), which has a lid. (n.b. If the lid has a wood or plastic bakelite knob, cover it well with aluminum foil, because things are about to heat up! Note that even bare silicone handles may not handle degrees over 450F. Consult with your manufacturer).
- Dump your dough into the pot, and place the cover partially on, to leave an air gap.
- Let it rise (as before) a second time, for 40 minutes.
- Dump the dough back out into the bowl you used for the first rise.
Baking:
Dutch Oven Method
Pre-heating:
(Alternatives: n.b. Pre-heating improves the crust. But if you do not have a pot that is oven-safe to 500F, you can not follow this step. Cast iron is best and gives best results. But it should be possible in a regular pot, again if oven safe to 500F. If you have no dutch oven but do have a covered glass baking dish, it might also be feasible with that. In this case, do not pre-heat, and skip to the next step. Just be sure your glass baking dish is oven-safe to 425F. There is a higher risk of breakage with older pieces).
- Here, you may, if desired, sprinkle cornmeal (preferably) or flour on to the bottom of the pot, to help release the bread, and flavour it.
- Now place the empty dutch oven pot covered with the lid on to the lowest rack in your oven (lower your middle rack if necessary).
- Turn the heat on to 500F degrees.
- Leave it in at least long as it takes for the oven to get to 500F, but preferably for 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the dutch oven (with oven mitts!), place it on a heatproof surface, and remove the lid.
In the oven:
- Take the bowl containing the dough and place it over top of the open dutch oven, carefully turn it over, and allow the dough to slowly fall into the dutch oven (if too sticky, you can help it by scraping the dough away from the sides of the bowl with your fingers). (n.b. Careful not to touch the pot with bare hands, it will be very hot!)
- Using your oven mitts, pick the pot up and shake it, to help the dough relax into the pot.
- Using a sharp knife, make three slits across the dough, about a half inch deep (careful not to scratch the sides of your pot with the knife).
- Cover the pot with the lid, and place the dutch oven pot into your oven.
- Turn heat down to 425F, and bake the bread for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake until the bread is deep brown (see photo), about 30 minutes, give or take 10 minutes.
Out of the oven:
Invert the pot and dump the bread on to a cooling rack. For best results, allow to cool to room temperature (about 1 - 2 hrs). (n.b. After the first rise, if you wish to continue the bread later, you can store the dough in the fridge in a loosely covered plastic container for up to two weeks. You can also double the quantities and bake one bread, while storing the dough for another later on).
Bread Loaf Pan Method
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| Quick no-knead, conventional bread loaf pan |
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| Quick no-knead, end piece |
To make the bread, I used 2t instant dry yeast (for 3 1/4c flour) ("Komae" instant yeast, from China). I also used a teaspoon of vinegar (in the 1 1/2c of water). (n.b. Vinegar is recommended for quick no-knead, as the shorter rise time results in less flavorful bread, and it's an attempt to add flavour).
I cooked it for an hour @ 425F and even so, the crust wasn't colouring to my taste. Although I would have preferred a darker crust, I had no more patience to wait, as my chicken burger for supper required fresh bread! The resulting loaf was a sickly pale brown-ish colour, and about 3" at its highest point. Very dry, so quite unlike the dutch oven crust. I did not wait the recommended time before slicing it.
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| Chicken Burger w/ swiss cheese, dijonnaise, lettuce & green pepper on fresh quick no-knead bread |
"i heard beauty calling
i heard her one morning
from my place in the dust
i walked through the gloom
she stood in a clearing
said where are you going
i said to tomorrow
but i'll stop here with you
you stand or move
and i'll lead you along
for you have a body
and i have a song... "
- "I Heard Beauty Calling"
: Morning Star
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