NYT No-knead bread

Well, this was a guarded success!

First, the negatives:

I use spelt flour, which tends to be slack and not raise as well as I'd like - but I can eat as much of it as I want.

I'd probably use a smaller diameter pot next time, to force a little more rise.

Damned thing stuck like Gorilla Glue to my very well floured linen cloth, so the top isn't as pretty as it should be.

Now, the positives:

Wonderful crust! I didn't hear it "sing" as it cooled, but this is a crackling, relatively thick crust, not tough or hard, but a great crunch.

Nice, open crumb, with what I at least consider good gluten development and glossy bubbles.

Very good flavor developed. Could handle rich additives like garlic and olives without losing it's own character.

Baking notes:

I adjusted the published recipe to weights, converting his "42% water" to 72% hydration. Measured out 1 5/8 cups of room-temp water, which I then weighed. Added 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast and 1 1/2 tsp salt, then hand mixed in 1.38 times the water weight of unbleached white spelt flour.

Turned into an oiled bowl (maybe a little too much oil) and flipped it over, then left at ~68 to 70 F for almost 20 hours. (Weekend baking would be better!)

Turned out onto a lightly floured work surface and did a couple of folds with the bench knife, then left covered to rest for 15 minutes.

Formed up into a ball as well as I could, given it's very slack, sticky nature, and flipped it onto a heavily dusted smooth linen towel. Covered and left it to rise again for 2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours, fired up the oven to 450 F, with a heavy walled non-stick aluminum pot preheating. At 2 hours, gently rolled the boule into the pot. Yeah, right! Hung it by the towel, as I cut the mass loose with the bench knife, dropping it into the hot pot. Shook the pot gently to spread the dough a bit, but it was elastic enough to hold onto its rough shape.

Covered tightly and baked for 30 minutes, then removed the cover and returned it to the ovem for 20 more minutes.

Was able to hold off my self and wife for an hour, as it cooled, made the first cut, and took some money shots...

Browse to:

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on "NYT Bread" on the left side menu, then on "Image overview" after the slideshow starts. You can then double-click on the thumbnails for decently large images.Dave

Reply to
Dave Bell
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The definition of well-floured is that it doesn't stick. If it did, it wasn't well-floured - enough. In the video, they mention bran or corn meal as alternatives.

The closed top surface is probably due to the oil in the rising bowl. Omitting it gives a more open, rustic-looking crust.

The video calls for 1 1/2 cups water and I've found that, at this hydration level, the dough holds a shape slightly better and the oven shoot is stronger. Read it and then click on video.

No oil. Follow the directions. Mix it in a bowl and just leave it there, covered. It sticks, but that's what floured fingers, spatulas and plastic dough scrapers are for. Make it before bedtime and bake it for supper the next evening.

Try it at 500F with a baking sheet under the pot.

Reply to
Bob (this one)

My wife, the official Designated Baker in the family, gave it a shot today (beginning yesterday, actually -- 24 hours overall). She followed the recipe exactly, by volume, not by weight (her choice). The dough was extremely wet, making the inital folds problematic. It took an extra 15minutes of resting and heavily floured hands to get it to the point where a seam was evident.

We used a smaller diameter dutch oven as well -- about 9".

The result is quite tasty, with no noticeable sourdough flavor from the fermentation. Very crackly crust, but ours would seem to be not as thick a crust as Dave's -- I would call it fairly thin, actually. Nice airy texture.

Not bad, but herself doesn't think it's worth the effort and attention it requires, and the mess it creates. 8;)

A pic is at

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Larry

Reply to
pltrgyst

I've some burbling away now to bake tomorrow.

I also have a vat of sourdough frothing to make into a few loaves tomorrow, too. The NYT will be plain white, the sourdough will have white, whole wheat, rye, spelt, oats & flax.

Boron

Reply to
Boron Elgar

It is messy as described. I found that a slightly lower hydration made a big difference. I used 1 1/3 cup water for today's and it was much easier to handle.

Pastorio

Reply to
Bob (this one)

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