Look, Ma, No Knead!
Monday, September 27, 2010 at 1:13PM When it comes to baking, I = LAZY. I've relied on my Zojirushi breadmaker for almost a decade to provide my family with freshly baked bread. When I hear people rhapsodizing about the joys of the long knead, I think, Dude, that's why I work out.
So you would assume that I would have jumped on the Jim Lahey/Mark Bittman No Knead Bread craze when it hit Manhattan almost four years ago. There are tales told of the entire City being hit by a run on instant yeast and Le Creuset Dutch ovens. Rose Levy Beranbaum, my personal Obi-Wan Kenobi of baking, went ga-ga as she whipped up her own modifications. The foodie portion of the blogosphere still reels from the discussions and debates that followed Bittman's column.
But if you assumed, you would be wrong. The bread was just too popular; I couldn't bring myself to join in. Kind of how I will only reluctantly read an Oprah book once it's an Oprah book, and how I have taken a solemn vow never to see James Cameron's Titanic.
But then, my buddy Glen Nelson tried making the bread and raved. Glen and his wife Marcia venerate food to the level that Patrick and I do, so I was impressed. But still, I resisted.
The camel-back-breaking straw came a few weeks ago. I checked in on my idol and first blogcrush, Jane Brocket, to see what fabulous creativity she was up to. She had just announced her lateness to the No Knead party, with fantastic results. That did it. I gave in.
I'm glad I waited, though; since Bittman made Jim Lahey's genius famous, Teh Webs have come up with all manner of variations and adaptations, including one using all whole wheat flour that still has just four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. Bring it, sister; I've got literally two tons of wheat in my basement.
I realized as I read the recipe that the whole-wheat version, in addition to being extraordinarily economical for someone in my position, also is very Weston Price-friendly. The people at Dr. Price's foundation contend that the phytic acid in wheat and other grains--the substance that preserves grain for centuries under the right conditions--is hard on the stomach. Getting rid of it by soaking the grains for an extended length of time will get rid of the phytic acid and also make the grains' nutrients much more bio-available. This has been a problem at our house, however; I'm the only die-hard sourdough fan here. But perhaps the No Knead bread would not offend everyone else's sensibilities. I had to find out.
So last week, I got out my wheat grinder and made me some flour, then dusted off this great ceramic baking pot we got as a gift years ago. It usually languishes in the top cupboard until I need it to hold ten pounds' worth of mashed potatoes, but no more. Oiled and preheated, it took the load of really ugly, slack, all-wheat dough I put in it, and 45 minutes later, produced a glorious loaf of artisan bread.
We let the loaf cool, then sliced and tasted it. Delicious. It could easily sit on the table at Picholine or Bar Boulud as a rustic accompaniment to cheese (or simply play host to a slathering of cultured butter). I immediately stirred up another batch, which was just as good when when it was ready the next day. The family usually endures wheat bread, but now they're eagerly asking for it.
And yesterday I decided to give the kids a treat. They love those $4.99 Ecce Panis boules I splurge on from time to time; I wondered whether the white No Knead bread would compare favorably.
Yeah: pretty much leaves it in the dust. Mouth-watering, crispy crust; complex (but not sourdoughy) flavor; delectably stretchy innards that beg for your best-quality butter.
I cannot stress to you how easy this is, but maybe this link will convince you. Folks, I want to be cautious about a possible break-up after so many years together, but I may well be seeking another home for the Zojirushi sometime soon. I can't see why I would ever want any other kind of bread than Jim Lahey's miracle loaf.
Delicious Dish
Reader Comments (17)
I hate kneading too. Now I'm going to have to try this!
Wow, talk about high praise! I can't imagine a more fervent recommendation. I've been wanting to bake today but am out of eggs and have sick kids I'm not about to haul to the grocery store. But I have all the (four!) ingredients for this. Guess what I'm going to do this afternoon?
Hrm. I need a pot. . . (And believe me, I have nothing that works.)
I want to try this.
Thinking. . .Thinking. . .Sleeping. . .
Wow. If stubborn little YOU tried it and LOVED it, it must be amazing! I'm sold! And here I'd been saving my pennies for a Zojirushi of my own!
I like making bread by hand, although a food processor used to serve as my kneader. My biggest bone of contention with wheat bread is that most loaves made by diligent Mormon housewives is usually sweet. And I loathe sweet bread. Sugar kind of renders bread pointless. If I want sweet, I'll eat a cookie. I feel like I should give this a try as I adore artisan bread more than any other food on the planet.
Although I need some type of bread pot. . .
Okay, I have to try this because I trust you on all things food. (Although YOU lazy in the kitchen. Hahahahaaa!)
So to clarify: does this work with freshly ground wheat flour? That's what it sounded like, but the recipe on the link makes a big point of white bread flour.
If you don't have a cool clay pot or a Le Creuset pot, people report excellent results using a cast iron Dutch oven. They are quite inexpensive from Lehman's catalog or from a camping store. Just make sure you season it first.
The whole wheat version to which I linked is the recipe I used when I used whole wheat. I made it first with freshly ground whole wheat flour. When I grind wheat, I do a bunch at a time and freeze whatever I don't use that day. The second day, I used all wheat flour straight from the freezer, and it worked equally well.
When I made the white flour version yesterday/today, I used Bittman/Lahey's recipe--or very close to it (I found a version that had the flour measured by weight, and I much prefer to weigh my flour than to measure it by volume.
I think with this kind of simple, artisanal recipe, the ingredients are EVERYTHING. I would be slow to use wheat flour off of a grocery store shelf that had been sitting there going rancid for who knows how long. The slow rise is only going to magnify the mediocrity of such a route. If you have to buy whole wheat flour, make sure it is from a well-trafficked store, and keep it in the freezer until you use it.
I've read that any dutch-oven style pan, whether cast iron or not, will work, so long as the lid fits reasonably well.
Yes, JaneAnne, and provided it can withstand the high heat, especially during the preheating. Thanks!
I had a zojirishi for twenty years. It died recently. Am now convinced to try this amazing recipe.
Look who's back! And with beautiful looking bread, to boot. I haven't been baked in months(=why I was able to loose weight, how sad is that), but this may get me back in the kitchen. I'll try it with my cast iron dutch oven.
Just delete "been". I haven't baked in months. I haven't ever been baked, I don't think.
I am always looking for a soft whole wheat recipe. I am a BOSCH girl...
Luisa Perkins = Lazy??? that seems like a huge contradiction. It must have been a typing error in your post :p
We never bake our own bread....how lazy would you call that?
Is Le Creuset Dutch???? thought it was French
Ellen, "Dutch oven" is an American term for a certain kind of pot. Le Creuset is certainly French. :D
Beautiful bread! it looks like it just dropped down from heaven.
I have a bread machine we got on Freecycle a few years back. Yep, it's still sitting in our garage, dusty as a dog. Maybe I'll be inspired to dig it out, it's kneadless, too, right?
I have never been able to make bread. It's my achilles heel of baking. But this I need to try. That looks fantastic!