(no subject)
Dec. 3rd, 2006 10:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
figmentYesterday was a good day. We slept in. We went to Sticky Fingers for brunch. Sticky Fingers is an awesome vegan bakery & cafe that has just relocated to right around the corner from us! They just opened on Wednesday and I was delighted to see that they have a great space, and that they were super busy - there was a line going to the door the entire time we were there! I'm happy because I really want them to do well. We had a delicious breakfast and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
azure_armand went to get us more treats for this morning. Mmmm.
I also made bread yesterday. I think I'm a pretty good cook but I don't think of myself as much of a baker, so I was dubious. And the recipe - I didn't think it could possibly be so easy, but it was! This recipe takes forever - I started it at 9 PM on Friday night and we ate the loaf at 7 PM Saturday night - but it's so easy and delicious. It literally doesn't require any kneading.
This New York Times article is where I got the recipe, and the theory behind it (sent to me by my brotherjgs42).
No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf.
Mira’s modifications:
* instead of mixing instant yeast with the other dries, proof 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast in 2 Tbs. hot water, then add room temp. water to total amt. called for, and proceed
* after rising, leave in bowl and knead with a spatula instead of by hand, no need for sticky mess or getting the counter dirty
* had success with these alternate flour combinations: 2 c. whole wheat/1 c. all purpose; 2 c. ww/1/2 c. all purpose/1/2c. crushed cereal. If using other than all purpose flour, try adding a bit extra water
I used Mira's yeast modification and tried the whole wheat/all purpose combo.
I was really dubious when I put the dough into the pot, it looked pretty flat and unconvincing. But it came out great! I let it cool (and listened to the crust crackle as it cooled) for about an hour and then sliced it up, and the four of us ate almost the entire loaf.
Bread!
Bread, hummous, and olives - part of last night's dinner.
Anyway, we had friends over for dinner, consumed a delicious meal, and had a good time. Today, worky worky worky, and then go see The Fountain at 2. Hope you're all having a good weekend!
azure_armand went to get us more treats for this morning. Mmmm.I also made bread yesterday. I think I'm a pretty good cook but I don't think of myself as much of a baker, so I was dubious. And the recipe - I didn't think it could possibly be so easy, but it was! This recipe takes forever - I started it at 9 PM on Friday night and we ate the loaf at 7 PM Saturday night - but it's so easy and delicious. It literally doesn't require any kneading.
This New York Times article is where I got the recipe, and the theory behind it (sent to me by my brother
jgs42).No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf.
Mira’s modifications:
* instead of mixing instant yeast with the other dries, proof 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast in 2 Tbs. hot water, then add room temp. water to total amt. called for, and proceed
* after rising, leave in bowl and knead with a spatula instead of by hand, no need for sticky mess or getting the counter dirty
* had success with these alternate flour combinations: 2 c. whole wheat/1 c. all purpose; 2 c. ww/1/2 c. all purpose/1/2c. crushed cereal. If using other than all purpose flour, try adding a bit extra water
I used Mira's yeast modification and tried the whole wheat/all purpose combo.
I was really dubious when I put the dough into the pot, it looked pretty flat and unconvincing. But it came out great! I let it cool (and listened to the crust crackle as it cooled) for about an hour and then sliced it up, and the four of us ate almost the entire loaf.
Bread!
Bread, hummous, and olives - part of last night's dinner.
Anyway, we had friends over for dinner, consumed a delicious meal, and had a good time. Today, worky worky worky, and then go see The Fountain at 2. Hope you're all having a good weekend!
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 03:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 03:38 pm (UTC)What pot did you use? I've been using our 8-quart All-Clad dutch oven, which works fine, but I've been wondering about using a smaller one. It looks like you got a really good boule shape, which I haven't quite been getting -- I've been getting more amorphous loaves, which sometimes come out looking like proper batards, sometimes more free-form. Anyway, I wonder if I'd get a better boule if I used a smaller pot.
Did you dust with cornmeal or flour?
My latest experiment was to add 1/4 c of wet sourdough starter as well as yeast. It worked! My quest for a fluffy, crusty sourdough loaf has been fulfilled.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 04:03 pm (UTC)I dusted with wheat bread flour. When I put it in the towel I really loaded on the flour.
Congratulations on the sourdough! Let's make lots of bread over Christmas. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 04:15 pm (UTC)Roger the Xmas bread-making, I was hoping to! Always good to have enough bread-eaters that you can bake every day!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 06:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 06:42 pm (UTC)pot was inappropriate for being in the oven at 450°F and started giving off fumes, it would have been successful. The aborted loaf showed every sign of being perfect.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 06:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-03 10:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-04 03:36 am (UTC)Lesson learned: give the bread monster a moat!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-04 06:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-04 06:34 pm (UTC)