From the NY Times, where The First No-Knead Bread that ate the internet started, comes this new one--Soon the Bread Will Be Making Itself.

Looks similar, and I love the idea of starting with one large batch, and using some every day or so. Anyone tried this yet?

I've printed out the recipe and will report back. I too like the idea of being able to bake just a small loaf of bread as often as I want! This could be dangerous!

I've got the oven heating up for the first loaf! My dough wasn't very slack, as of course the humidty plays such a big part in breadmaking. I think next time I'll start with just 6 cups of flour for the basic recipe.

One change I made to the recipe was to mix the salt in with the flour, then I added the water to the yeast, then dumped the yeast/water into the flour/salt mixture. I don't think putting the salt in with the yeast is a good idea!

I've refrigerated the rest of the dough just to see how well is holds up over time.....

It's ready, and it's yummy! the crust of course is VERY crispy, and the inside is soft...but not overly so....even hot out of the oven it still sliced easily. I'm wondering if subsequent loaves will have a smoother texture after proofing for a longer period.

I know there's no perspective, but this is a small loaf, probably not quite 1/4 of the total dough.

And the inside of the loaf...

That looks really good! I'm going to have to try this!

Oh yum, Barb! Thanks for being our "test kitchen" and for posting the photos. Will definitely give this a try this week.

Judy

Okay, here's an interesintg tidbit.....when I put the remaining dough in the frig I assumed that the cold temperature would stop the rising process....but NO!

Today when I opened the frig I discovered that new smaller bowl I'd transferred the dough into had popped it's lid! Guess I'll be baking another loaf tomorrow....oh darn..hot bread, fresh out of the oven!

quote:

Originally posted by Barb (and Art):
Guess I'll be baking another loaf tomorrow....oh darn..hot bread, fresh out of the oven!

OH THE SUFFERING HUMANITY!!!

I made the original recipe from last spring for Thanksgiving dinner rolls. Should have made this recipe and used the whole batch. I think some people ate 1/2 dozen of my rolls.

Last night I took about half of what's left of the dough, stretched it out, sprinkled it with olive oil, rosemary and salt, and we had foccacia with our dinner! I still have the last bit of dough to bakc, but I have to say...this recipe is SOOOOO much easier than the other one!!! If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go!

I agree, Barb! It really is amazing. I made my first batch yesterday. It takes no time, and I used my new baking stone. I brought a hot fresh crusty loaf to my book club lunch. They scarfed it down in no time. I am going to "play with an idea" this weekend.

Keep us posted Palma! So far the foccacia is as creative as I've been!

Barb and Palma, both your photos are beautiful. And inspiring.

Question: is this a chewy bread?

What am I missing? The link led to an article about the bread, but where did you find the actual recipe?

Mary Pace

Mary,
click on the Simple Crusty Bread title below the picture in the article.
Charity

Terry, the texture is great. The crust is crispy, and the center is solid, but light. It has small air holes, but holds up for a sandwich! I wouldn't use the word "chewy". It is "tender". It TASTES great...a little like cibatta, but less salty.

I've baked three loaves (one for my neighbor after the garage sale). Dough for one more in the fridge. No time this weekend for experiments, but sometime soon... I will leave the baking stone in my bottom oven!

I mixed up a batch yesterday, and popped the first loaf into the oven when my alarm went off this morning. Smells great already. Warm bread for breakfast on a snowy day!

I made some this weekend. I don't have a stone so I made the first batch in a loaf pan. A grapefruit size piece is not big enough. You need to us about half the dough I would say for a standard loaf pan. It was yummy though.

When I tried it again I put the remaining dough in my Iternet Bread round cast iron pan, lowered the temperature to 425 and it came out better.

Also, exactly how many packagage of yeast = 1 1/2 TBLS? I used two package + a little of the third. And, is the flour supposed to be sifted? 6 1/2 cups did not make a "loose" batter so I added more water.

Ginger

1 pkg of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, so 1.5 tablespoon would be two packages.

As for the flour, I wouldn't sift, but it will vary depending on the kind of flour you use, the way you measure, the humidity in the air, etc, so you always have to adjust.

I'm going to try this one tomorrow. I don't have a stone, but I do have a 3.5 quart enamel pot (good to 500 degrees). Has anyone baked this in this kind of pot? This new recipe calls for a non-stick pot...

Perhaps if I sprayed it well?

No, this recipe doesn't call for the bread to be put into a pan....that's one of the things I like best...no more burned fingers! Just form your dough into whatever shape you prefer...round, oval, even flatten it for foccacia.

If you don't have a stone I'd put a baking sheet in the oven while it preheats, then put the dough on a piece of parchment paper and slide it onto the baking sheet.

Good luck!

Barb,

It came out perfect! I used the parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal, and slipped it onto the preheated baking tray. It was delicious, pretty, and gone in 5 seconds!

Thanks.

Mine just came out of the oven 30 minutes ago and the crust is so crispy and delicious but I'm not sure about the inside. It seems like it should be a little lighter even though it tastes good. Also, it didn't come out as puffy as the one in Barb's picture. I only used 6 cups of flour because the dough was dry and I even added a little more water. Also, the water in my broiler pan dried up really fast so I added more because I thought it might burn but that also dried up. Was that a mistake? Can you remove the broiler pan after it dries?

Carole

It's my turn to try this bread!

The weather's windy and off-and-on rainy here today, so it seemed like a good idea ...

It's rising right now - I'll let you know how it turns out!

I made another loaf and used a baking sheet and no broiler pan with water. I flattened the dough in an oval shape and used Barb's recipe with rosemary, salt and oil. It was great, better than the first loaf, and the inside was lighter.

Colleen, good luck with your first batch!

Carole

Well, that was just too damn easy!

I baked two loaves yesterday, and am about to put the last two in today. Good stuff! Loved it fresh from the oven with butter ... I gave one loaf to Sue and David last night, or they both would have been gobbled up by me!

I can see that experimenting with this recipe is going to be a good winter pastime ...

Colleen, did you use a pizza stone, baking sheet or loaf pan? I can't figure out from the recipe if you're suppose to use the broiler pan with the water if you don't use a pizza stone.

Carole

Has anyone done this new loaf with other types of flour (e.g., whole wheat or semolina)?

I was also wondering if you could use other types of flour and if you can use the dough to make pizza.

Carole

The water in a pan will give you a crispier crust, but you can use it or not, as you wish. You can also mist the oven/bread, but the idea of the pan of water is to create steam without the bother of misting.

Baking stone, baking sheet or loaf pan, I don't think it matters...it will taste good, so just experiment and be willing to eat your mistakes.

As for pizza, I've made pizza with this dough...it might not make as thin and crispy as what you're used to, but again, it will still be good. There just can't be anything wrong with hot, fresh, homemade bread!

And no, I haven't tried any alternate flours, but it's certainly another experiment worth making!

Mine came out really crispy without the pan of water. I just used up the last batch of dough. I won't be making it for awhile because DH only eats one or two pieces (he's the one with the willpower) and I polish off the rest of the loaf pronto. I could make a meal on that bread.

Carole

I don't have a pizza stone, so used a baking sheet covered with parchment paper sprinkled with a little corn meal. I did put water into the broiler pan, and love that crunchy crust!

With the non-pizza stone method, the oval shaped loaves had a better texture and were less dense than the round loaves. I liked them better ... although I was happy enough with the round loaves to 'eat my mistakes!'

I'm going to try Barb's idea of making foccacia, and think I'll put fresh rosemary right into the dough ... I also want to make bread with raw sunflower seeds or nuts. Ooh, the possibilites!

I am finally making this bread! It is rising nicely as I write.

If someone reads this within the next hour, I have a question: what is a broiler pan? Can I use any kind of pan and just place it in the oven while the bread cooks? Thanks in advance!!

I've been a lurker on this thread, and have intended to make the bread, but haven't, yet.

Chiocciola: Any low pan that you can fit onto the bottom rack of your oven will do, I think.

Broiler pans have low sides, thus the reason for suggesting their use for this purpose.

Charity

A broiler pan is a flat pan with a metal 'lid' with slots in it, for meat fat to drip through.

I'd think any large flat pan would be just fine...

Colleen
** Hi Charity! GMTA.

Charity and Colleen: Thanks so much!! I think I will use a lasagna type pan, as that is all I have. I am off to bake my bread now, will report later!!

So I baked the bread and it does look very good; crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I do think the taste is a little bland, though, so I think I will experiment with different flours and maybe add some herbs. It sure tasted good warm with butter, though!

quote:

Colleen
** Hi Charity! GMTA.

HI Colleen ! What does GMTA stand for?
Charity

quote:

What does GMTA stand for?

Great Minds Think Alike .

OK - so I googled GMTA and found an acronyms site which gives the following options:

quote:

GMTA Great Minds Think Alike
**** GMTA Georgia Motor Trucking Association
**** GMTA German Medical Technology Alliance
**** GMTA Georgia Music Teachers Association
**** GMTA Greenfield Montague Transportation Area
**** GMTA Green Mountain Transit Agency (Vermont)
**** GMTA Guam Mass Transit Authority
*** GMTA Gainesville Music Teachers Association
*** GMTA Gloucester Music Teachers Association
*** GMTA Goals-Means Task Analysis
*** GMTA Greater Madison Tennis Association (Wisconsin)
*** GMTA Greenwich Musical Theatre Academy (UK)
*** GMTA General Motors Technical Academy
*** GMTA Grand Manan Tourism Association
*** GMTA Genetically Modified Total Annihilation (game)

So - is that TIM?

Judy

edited to add -- DUHHHHHH! Missed Kim's post above. Sorry all.

*snicker*

Judy, dear ... it's TMI.

(Too much information!)

p.s. One day I'll put together a list of the 'standard' message board acronyms for everyone. (GMTA and TMI will be included. )

OK - so I'm a marginally dyslexic inattentive old soul! I think I'll just pack my suitcase and go to London for a while. Maybe it will rejuvinate my ailing brain....

Thanks, Colleen (tee-hee!)

quote:

TIM

Isn't that the card I buy for my Italian cell phone?

Rather than dealing with pans with water, etc. if you want crusty bread spritz the top of the bread occasionally during the baking process.

This tip I learned at Scottsdale Culinary Institute bread baking course.

The other thing I learned? It's too darn much trouble. Good bakery = good bread.

Okay - I'm finally trying this. My dough is resting at the moment. Question though the instructions say, "In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate"

Well, I'm going to bake at this point (not all of it, just 1/4).

But when you refrigerate it, the instructions say, "Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes."

Now, here's the question - do I need to let the dough rest when I'm using the stuff that was just sitting on the counter, and hadn't been refrigerated? I'm thinking yes, but thought I'd check.

Yes, take 1/4 of it, shape it and let it rest while your oven heats up!

Kim - too funny that you and I are both trying this for the first time today!

I did exactly as you suggested. Cut off a piece of the dough. Formed it into an oval loaf and let it rest. The remaining dough is in the fridge.

The loaf I ended up with isn't huge but smells amazing!

Cool - Jerry - too funny. I was sitting here an hour ago thinking, hmm...maybe I should bake some bread for tonight and remembered this discussion.

Now I'm also debating whether to make the almond finger cookies from Dolce Italiano too.

quote:

Now I'm also debating whether to make the almond finger cookies from Dolce Italiano too.

Go nuts! I'm doing our taxes :-(