That no-knead bread recipe...

Steve Wertz said:

So what if I use regular strength yeast instead of the
quick-acting stuff?

It fermented all evening/night and bulked up by about 5x by
midnight, but looking at it this morning it lost about 20% of the
bulk and fell a little.

I punched it down to see if it would rise again. If it doesn't
work, I'll be out about $.30, and I had the yeast leftover from
making ginger beer so I figured, what the heck...

Well, it was only $.30, so no knead to get upset.

Quoted message said:

-sw

--Bryan

Steve Wertz said:

So what if I use regular strength yeast instead of the
quick-acting stuff?

It fermented all evening/night and bulked up by about 5x by
midnight, but looking at it this morning it lost about 20% of the
bulk and fell a little.

I punched it down to see if it would rise again. If it doesn't
work, I'll be out about $.30, and I had the yeast leftover from
making ginger beer so I figured, what the heck...

-sw

Did you ferment it at room temp, or in the fridge? I think I have
read that it does proof really well in the fridge all night, but I
could be wrong.

I don't know about using regular yeast vs the quick rise stuff in this
bread, as I haven't made it yet. It is on my list to try though.

There is a long thread on eGullet about this bread, if you are
interested.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=95345

Christine

Christine Dabney said:

Steve Wertz said:

So what if I use regular strength yeast instead of the
quick-acting stuff?

It fermented all evening/night and bulked up by about 5x by
midnight, but looking at it this morning it lost about 20% of the
bulk and fell a little.

Quoted message said:

Did you ferment it at room temp, or in the fridge? I think I have
read that it does proof really well in the fridge all night, but I
could be wrong.

It sat out on the counter all night @ 77F. At noon, it was
practically boiling away.

It's way too wet though. I floured it up a little more and it's
doing its final rise in a wide souffle crock which will also be
used to bake it - so no preheating of the dish.

Letting it rise outside of any container would have just made a
big Boboli pizza crust.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

It sat out on the counter all night @ 77F. At noon, it was
practically boiling away.

It's way too wet though. I floured it up a little more and it's
doing its final rise in a wide souffle crock which will also be
used to bake it - so no preheating of the dish.

Letting it rise outside of any container would have just made a
big Boboli pizza crust.

-sw

It's supposed to be very, very wet. And my understanding of the
preheated dish is that it is necessary for the oven spring for this
bread.

There has been much discussion on this, on the thread I mentioned in
eGullet.

Mark Bittman even weighed in on this discussion in that thread.

Christine

Steve Wertz said:

It sat out on the counter all night @ 77F. At noon, it was
practically boiling away.

It's way too wet though. I floured it up a little more and it's
doing its final rise in a wide souffle crock which will also be
used to bake it - so no preheating of the dish.

Letting it rise outside of any container would have just made a
big Boboli pizza crust.

-sw

The type of yeast doesn't matter; I've done it with both. But keep it
down to 1/8 tsp.

77F is very warm. I've noticed that the longer it sits and the warmer
the temperature, the soupier the dough gets. I think the yeast
hydrolyzes the flour or something. I also use a bit of dough from the
previous loaf; maybe that affects the texture as well.

So from the start I don't make it quite as wet as the original recipe
calls for. Also, I sometimes limit the rising time to 12 hr or so,
esp. if the temperature is warmer than 70.

Using 1/3 whole wheat flour seems to help; perhaps the bran absorbs
the extra liquid. Still, it's usually a flat-ish loaf no matter.

It's so darn good though...

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Christine Dabney said:

Steve Wertz said:

It sat out on the counter all night @ 77F. At noon, it was
practically boiling away.

It's way too wet though. I floured it up a little more and it's
doing its final rise in a wide souffle crock which will also be
used to bake it - so no preheating of the dish.

Letting it rise outside of any container would have just made a
big Boboli pizza crust.

It's supposed to be very, very wet.

It's too wet. It falls every time I move it. There is no way I
can let this rise the final time without putting it into a crock.
Because as soon as I transfer the overblown pizza dough to the
baking vessel it will deflate again.

Quoted message said:

And my understanding of the
preheated dish is that it is necessary for the oven spring for this
bread.

We'll find out.

-sw

Curly Sue said:

The type of yeast doesn't matter; I've done it with both. But keep it
down to 1/8 tsp.

For which type of yeast? Both? I figured since I was using the
less active yeast, I'd double it to 1/2ts. So I did :-)

Quoted message said:

So from the start I don't make it quite as wet as the original recipe
calls for. Also, I sometimes limit the rising time to 12 hr or so,
esp. if the temperature is warmer than 70.

Well, this is Texas. It's pretty hard (and expensive) to keep it
70F in the house :-)

Quoted message said:

Using 1/3 whole wheat flour seems to help; perhaps the bran absorbs
the extra liquid. Still, it's usually a flat-ish loaf no matter.

Next time I'll definitely use less water, at least. Less of a
rise sounds like the right idea, too. I'll post pictures of the
finished product, possibly just for laughs.

-sw

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Christine Dabney said:

Steve Wertz said:

It sat out on the counter all night @ 77F. At noon, it was
practically boiling away.

It's way too wet though. I floured it up a little more and it's
doing its final rise in a wide souffle crock which will also be
used to bake it - so no preheating of the dish.

Letting it rise outside of any container would have just made a
big Boboli pizza crust.

It's supposed to be very, very wet.

It's too wet. It falls every time I move it. There is no way I
can let this rise the final time without putting it into a crock.
Because as soon as I transfer the overblown pizza dough to the
baking vessel it will deflate again.

Quoted message said:

And my understanding of the
preheated dish is that it is necessary for the oven spring for this
bread.

We'll find out.

-sw

That heated pot is treacherous! But it the high heat will inflate the
bread when you THROW it in the pot for fear of getting burnt.
Happy baking bread,
Dee Dee

Steve Wertz said:

Curly Sue said:

The type of yeast doesn't matter; I've done it with both. But keep it
down to 1/8 tsp.

For which type of yeast? Both? I figured since I was using the
less active yeast, I'd double it to 1/2ts. So I did :-)

Either one. It doesn't need much yeast, from what I have read.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So from the start I don't make it quite as wet as the original recipe
calls for. Also, I sometimes limit the rising time to 12 hr or so,
esp. if the temperature is warmer than 70.

Well, this is Texas. It's pretty hard (and expensive) to keep it
70F in the house :-)

Put it in the fridge overnight.

Christine

Steve Wertz said:

I'll post pictures of the
finished product, possibly just for laughs.

I think the yeast had lost a lot of it's juice, so the final rise
wasn't very productive. This loaf is about 4" high in the
center. Dense crumb and very moist. And the crust is perfect.
Reminds me of English muffin bread.

Next time it'll be airier - but still a pretty good save
considering I didn't follow any of the recommended instructions
or recipe.

http://i11.tinypic.com/66xkih0.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/4zymii9.jpg

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Steve Wertz said:

I'll post pictures of the
finished product, possibly just for laughs.

I think the yeast had lost a lot of it's juice, so the final rise
wasn't very productive. This loaf is about 4" high in the
center. Dense crumb and very moist. And the crust is perfect.
Reminds me of English muffin bread.

Next time it'll be airier - but still a pretty good save
considering I didn't follow any of the recommended instructions
or recipe.

http://i11.tinypic.com/66xkih0.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/4zymii9.jpg

That's much higher than mine ever come out (and tidier)! Probably due
to cooking it in a smaller diameter pan, plus starting it in a cold
pan. The crumb is also a lot whiter than mine, even when I use
bleached AP flour.

So, was it delicious? Although I don't like it as dark as the NYT
video showed, allowing a few almost-burned spots does add some flavor.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue said:

Steve Wertz said:

http://i11.tinypic.com/66xkih0.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/4zymii9.jpg

That's much higher than mine ever come out (and tidier)!

Ceramic souffle crock worked wonders - great crust without
pre-heating the dish. I did butter it. I thought about
cornmeal, but ditched that idea.

By the way it was rising earlier in the day, I thought I'd have a
much bigger volume of bread. This was pretty dense, IMO. I was
counting on a ciabatta-like crumb. I wanted it to rise more that
last time.

Quoted message said:

So, was it delicious? Although I don't like it as dark as the NYT
video showed, allowing a few almost-burned spots does add some flavor.

It was great - nice and chewey, but a little heavy. It was a
nice change of pace. It sure was filling.

The rest of dinner to go with that bread:
http://i10.tinypic.com/4titbw2.jpg

Smoked mozzarella and artichoke ravioli, portabella + porcini +
merlot tomato sauce, and toasted no-kneed bread (with garlic and
Romano cheese butter).

Hey - wait a minute... I just had a vegetarian dinner <gasp>!
Quick - somebody gimme some MEAT!

-sw

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Steve Wertz said:

I'll post pictures of the
finished product, possibly just for laughs.

I think the yeast had lost a lot of it's juice, so the final rise
wasn't very productive. This loaf is about 4" high in the
center. Dense crumb and very moist. And the crust is perfect.
Reminds me of English muffin bread.

Next time it'll be airier - but still a pretty good save
considering I didn't follow any of the recommended instructions
or recipe.

http://i11.tinypic.com/66xkih0.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/4zymii9.jpg

-sw

I like the fact that you didn't heat the pan before you put it in. That
seemed to me to have been one of the most important steps. I would never
have done that; but it worked for you -- and I will try it next time.
Heating the pan is the scariest part for me. Thanks. I think the slices
looked every bit as good as other pictures I've seen.

Also, I was a little disappointed myself that the breadwas so moist. I'm
glad you mentioned that. I don't recall many, if any, saying anything about
that.

Dee Dee

One time on Usenet said:

Curly Sue said:

Steve Wertz said:

http://i11.tinypic.com/66xkih0.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/4zymii9.jpg

That's much higher than mine ever come out (and tidier)!

Ceramic souffle crock worked wonders - great crust without
pre-heating the dish. I did butter it. I thought about
cornmeal, but ditched that idea.

By the way it was rising earlier in the day, I thought I'd have a
much bigger volume of bread. This was pretty dense, IMO. I was
counting on a ciabatta-like crumb. I wanted it to rise more that
last time.

Quoted message said:

So, was it delicious? Although I don't like it as dark as the NYT
video showed, allowing a few almost-burned spots does add some flavor.

It was great - nice and chewey, but a little heavy. It was a
nice change of pace. It sure was filling.

The rest of dinner to go with that bread:
http://i10.tinypic.com/4titbw2.jpg

Smoked mozzarella and artichoke ravioli, portabella + porcini +
merlot tomato sauce, and toasted no-kneed bread (with garlic and
Romano cheese butter).

What kind of garnish is that? They remind me of gooseberries.

Quoted message said:

Hey - wait a minute... I just had a vegetarian dinner <gasp>!
Quick - somebody gimme some MEAT!

I know what you mean, it kind of sneaks up on you. We had homemade
bean burritos and a creamy bean dip with chips the other night. I
didn't realize it was vegetarian until much later. I should do that
more often...

--
Jani in WA

Little Malice said:

One time on Usenet said:

The rest of dinner to go with that bread:
http://i10.tinypic.com/4titbw2.jpg

What kind of garnish is that? They remind me of gooseberries.

Caper berries.

-sw

Dee Dee said:

I like the fact that you didn't heat the pan before you put it in. That
seemed to me to have been one of the most important steps. I would never
have done that; but it worked for you -- and I will try it next time.
Heating the pan is the scariest part for me.

I didn't even pre-heat the oven. Since the bread was already
proofing in the oven, I just took off the plastic wrap, replaced
it with a glass pie plate, and turned on the oven to 450F.

-sw

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Dee said:

I like the fact that you didn't heat the pan before you put it in. That
seemed to me to have been one of the most important steps. I would never
have done that; but it worked for you -- and I will try it next time.
Heating the pan is the scariest part for me.

I didn't even pre-heat the oven. Since the bread was already
proofing in the oven, I just took off the plastic wrap, replaced
it with a glass pie plate, and turned on the oven to 450F.

-sw

I can see you are one that is not afraid of bread. Looks like one can
dissect this recipe to hell and back!
Every day I live, I have more and more respect for bread. And those who
bake it.
Dee Dee

Dee Dee said:

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I didn't even pre-heat the oven. Since the bread was already
proofing in the oven, I just took off the plastic wrap, replaced
it with a glass pie plate, and turned on the oven to 450F.

I can see you are one that is not afraid of bread. Looks like one can
dissect this recipe to hell and back!
Every day I live, I have more and more respect for bread. And those who
bake it.

I'm a cook, not a baker. I don't get along well with flour, so
this was probably just a first-time fluke for me.

It's been fermentation week at my house - pickles, bread, and
ginger beer. The ginger beer I didn't have nearly as much
success with. I opened it this morning and kapooooosh! All over
the kitchen. And I was using glass bottles, too. I like living
on the edge.

-sw

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 23:29:49 -0400, Dee Dee wrote:

I'm a cook, not a baker. I don't get along well with flour, so
this was probably just a first-time fluke for me.

You did well.

Quoted message said:

It's been fermentation week at my house - pickles, bread, and
ginger beer. The ginger beer I didn't have nearly as much
success with. I opened it this morning and kapooooosh! All over
the kitchen. And I was using glass bottles, too. I like living
on the edge.

Yes, you've got to have guts to work with fermentation. Speaking for
myself, of course. I've tried kim chi, etc, lemons, pickles, nothing seems
to work for me. I have to buy this stuff.

Quoted message said:

-sw