Focaccia bakers

Good luck! What will you put on it?

Howdy,

Shortly after the yeast is moistened and provided some nutrition, it starts to multiply.

As a result, (within a large range) there is little need to be precise about the amount of yeast at the outset.

Less yeast will mean a slower initial fermentation, and that is likely to improve the taste of the resulting bread.

I do my focaccia with a sourdough culture. Its rate of fermentation is far slower than that of commercial yeast and the tastes more complex.

All the best,

Have you made the no knead bread with starter?

Hi again,

I am not sure what you mean by "the no knead bread" because that makes it sound as if there is only one, but...

I have made many sourdough breads (of many different types) without kneading, and have been doing that for about twenty years.

When I want a bread with a very coarse crumb (big holes) I do no kneading.

All the best,

I just did the Focaccia recipe from Julia Childs book, 'Baking w/ Julia'. p.143.

. . . .just wondering if anyone else here tried it...???????

******************* Julia's book calls for coating the bread with infused or natural olive oil, thyme or rosemary (chopped) and coarse sea salt. I'm low salt type so I may go with the above, minus the salt and plus caraway seeds. Maybe even some cracked pepper when it comes out of the oven... Using so little yeast makes me wonder. I did have good heat for the rise's. (73 d F). First time I had dough more than double. And even a little early. I proofed the yeast at 93 d F. . . . . .I have never done the 'no knead' bread. I haven't baked in a few years, and now with winter here, it doesn't hurt to heat the house with the oven. So I'm going to get after it. It sure is a 'long time' recipe. . . . .I lost my sour dough culture during a divorce...also lost my Chinese Master Sauce goo. charlie

I found this on Cook's Illustrated...another variation on the no knead bread. This is the recipe that I am using now. The beer and vinegar does add more flavor.

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

No Knead Bread 2.0

breads

15 oz flour 1 1/2 ts salt 1/4 ts instant yeast 3 oz beer 1 tb vinegar 7 oz water

Combine all ingredients in large bowl mixing to blend with spatula.

Let dough rise for 8 to 15 hours, covered.

After rising, knead 10 to 15 times and form into a ball, seam side down. Place on Pam sprayed parchment paper and place in 10 inch skillet. Spray top with Pam and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for two hours.

Thirty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 500 F. and add Dutch oven to preheat also.

Sprinkle top of loaf with flour and make six inch slash in top of dough.

Remove Dutch oven from oven and remove lid. Place bread in Dutch oven using the parchment paper as a sling. Replace lid and return to oven. Lower temperature to 425F and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove lid and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 210 F.

Notes: Cook's Illustrated

Yield: 1 loaf

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **

The no knead method is new to me! But the recipe I'm using has a fine crumb;

2 TBS yeast 2 TBS salt 3 c. water 6.5 c. flour

I need to wake up my starter and try to use it instead of commercial yeast. But I was taught to develop the gluten by kneading, so this is surprising to me that you don't end up with a hockey puck by not kneading!

Thanks for the formula- what kind of beer do you use- Bud Light or Guiness? LOL!

Howdy,

Gluten can be developed three ways:

1: Chemically - (check the label of a supermarket loaf of white bread for more information on this method).

2: Mechanically - (kneading)

3: Hydration alone (that is, mix the stuff together, and then simply w-a-i-t.)

That last one is so very simple that it is really worth a try, but there are a few things to remember:

When the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, just be sure that they are mixed well enough that there are no "pockets" of dry flour.

Next, it will take on the order of 24 hours for the gluten to fully develop. But if the mixture is left at room temperature for all that time, it will over-ferment.

The growth of the yeast most be slowed, and the best way to do that is to cool the mixture.

So, mix the ingredients together, put it in a covered container, and put it in the fridge. After 24 hours, take it out, allow it to slowly warm, watch the extent of its growth in volume, and when it has expanded enough, form loaves, let rise for the final time, and bake.

The method I have outlined can be used for any bread using wheat flour. There is no (meaningful) "no knead" recipe.

I do find it funny that every few years someone writes a book or an article about "no knead" bread baking as if there were something new about it. It becomes the rage for a while, and then seems to fade.

All the best,

Funny- I went to Culinary school, and this method was NEVER mentioned- WTF is up with that? I'm going to try your method- I'll bet it has a lot more flavor...I've been letting it rise at room temp for about 3-4 hours...Thanks for your input!

Hi again,

I have been telling folks for years that making good bread is a lot like making good wine.

We know that it is possible to ferment grape juice quickly, but few would call the result "wine."

Similarly for bread...

If we slow the fermentation, the resulting bread will have more flavor.

All the best,

Just finished cooling the 3 loaves and the first one I tasted was great. It has to be a great recipe as I am a very amateur baker. . . .I substitued the Caraway seeds for the coarse sea salt and used dry chopped Thyme for the toppings. I am going to dust the loaves (they get painted again with olive oil after cooking) with cracked pepper.

Congratulations on your success- enjoy in good health!

Hi! I made bread this last weekend using my starter and the no knead method. I stuck it in the fridge for about 30 hours, then shaped & proofed it- WOW! Nice flavor, and I'm happy to report that my dormant starter is still kicking! I am always amazed that it does as well as it does after not being used for 4-6 months. I feed it & baby talk to it for a few days, which seems to be what she needs to get moving again. BTW, I named it Sheri after a wonderful woman I used to work for- she died from a brain anurism (sp) cooking dinner on Thanksgiving day 5 years ago :( She encouraged me to make this starter so we could have good bread at work.

Hi again,

I'm pleased that you gave it a try, and it's great that your first go was such a success.

All the best,

I'm pleased, too- attempt #2 will start tonight!

Hi, I haven't been around here for awhile.

Merryb, interesting that your culinary school didn't mention slowing the fermentation by cooling the dough. Mine did, both in the Intro to Baking and Artisan Bread classes. I'd be interested in knowing where you went. I did my time at the Art Institutes of Minnesota school. We did several slow ferments, called retarding the dough.

BTW, this looks like a good focaccia formula. I'll have to try it in my wood-fired cookstove.

GBB

Oh, I learded about that, it's the no knead method that was never mentioned. I went to South Seattle Community College, BTW.

Okay, My misunderstanding. Yeah, limited lab time makes it hard to go into everything. But, part of life is continuing to learn new things. Like me figuring out the wood cokstove oven. It is definitely different.

GBB