Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads (2 page)

Then, early in 2006, the editors at
Eating Well
asked me to create a yeast bread to go with a soup story. They wanted it easy as well as healthful, they said, because their readers were usually pressed for time. They, their readership, and I were all very pleased with my streamlined, no-knead recipe, although it was completely counter to a growing trend toward more complicated, multi-step artisan-style loaves.

Since the late 1980s, a passionate group of professional artisan bakers and earnest hobbyists had been switching away from the typical American "direct method" formulas (mixing commercial yeast, water, and all the flour together and letting the dough rise) to long, slow rises and more complex and time-consuming sponge and sourdough techniques popular in Europe. (Actually, these methods were also widely used in America until the twentieth century: Nineteenth-century cookbook authors routinely directed their readers to "set a sponge," the day before they made bread. And so many prospectors during the California Gold Rush baked sourdough bread that they came to be called "sourdoughs" themselves.)

As a result of the artisan movement, the quality of bread in this country was getting better and better. But it bothered me that the recipes being published almost invariably demanded multiple days and mixtures and effectively shut out all but the most dedicated home hobbyists from America's bread revolution.

I began thinking about some of the techniques the artisan bakers had newly introduced or rediscovered these past decades, with an eye toward simplifications that would make them more accessible to the legions of busy and inexperienced home cooks. Baker Jim Lahey's clever no-knead, slow-rise French bread recipe in an October 2006
New York Times
article by Mark Bittman definitely headed in that direction. It reminded me of a minimal-knead, refrigerator-rise technique that I (and others) had experimented with in the early 1980s, but Lahey's approach was better: It included a much longer countertop rise, which encouraged fuller gluten and flavor development. For his crusty bread he also revived—with fantastic results!—the old custom of baking in a covered Dutch oven, a technique commonplace when most Americans had to cook at a fireplace or campfire, but largely forgotten (except by die-hard campers) today.

I wanted to see if all kinds of quality breads—from the currently popular crusty boules and focaccias to the soft, comfy home-style loaves of my childhood and everything in between—could be adapted to an even less demanding and more flexible no-knead, slow-rise approach. I also wanted to eliminate or minimize hand shaping. This often intimidates the inexperienced baker, plus it involves time, kitchen mess, and cleanup that discourage the busy cook. And I wanted to incorporate a recently developed yeast-retarding, cold-rise technique that arguably delivers the absolute best bread flavor. Finally, I aimed for a process so flexible that those who have to be away from the house for long periods can adjust the timing of
all
the usual yeast bread stages—mixing and first rise; second rise and shaping; and baking—to fit neatly into their own schedules.

The results of my initial experimentation led to a story and recipes that appeared in the
Washington Post
in the fall of 2007. Almost immediately, readers blitzed the
Post
food section staff and me personally with enthusiastic feedback. The story generated lots of Internet buzz, too. Even more amazing than the sheer number of e-mails I received was the wide variety of people who wrote them: novices who had been afraid to try yeast bread before; veteran bakers who liked my easier, fuss-free approach; and time-pressed cooks excited that they could finally fit yeast baking into their schedules again. I even received several e-mails containing traditional recipes, with fervent requests for advice on how to convert them to my no-knead method. (These requests led to the last chapter in this book—Chapter 8, the
Kneadlessly Simple
Recipe Makeover Guide.)

The enormous positive reaction proved not only the obvious—that people love, love, love good, fresh-from-the-oven yeast bread—but that when provided with a method that
truly is simple and convenient,
they are eager to join America's bread revolution. Which brings me to
Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads.
As the title indicates, the recipes require
no
kneading at all! Nor do I merely dodge kneading by manipulating the dough in a mixer or food processor: It actually kneads itself during a long, slow, cool rise.

I'm excited to say that my
Kneadlessly Simple
recipes eliminate
all
the obstacles that used to deter folks from enjoying one of life's ultimate pleasures, breathtakingly fresh, wholesome home-baked bread. Anyone—
absolutely anyone
—can make all sorts of flavorful, fine-textured yeast breads easily, economically, conveniently, without fancy equipment, and, so long as the date on yeast packet indicates it's fresh, very reliably. If you can stir, measure, and read, you can make these breads! Best of all, unlike some of the baked goods produced using shortcut methods of the past, these will routinely have superior texture, aroma, and taste. In fact, unless you are lucky enough to have a world-class bakery right down the street, these may be the best breads you have ever eaten. (And they will certainly be more affordable.)

I owe a debt of gratitude to America's artisan bakers: They paved the way and contributed greatly to the knowledge base underpinning the
Kneadlessly Simple
method. Thanks to them, it's an exciting time to be eating—and making—bread in this country. From the late 1980s on, ground-breaking professional bakers like Craig Ponsford and other members of the Bread Bakers Guild of America have been dedicated to exploring and spreading the word on how to bake the best-tasting, best-quality, most interesting breads. These individuals have so raised the level of American baking that the United States now competes successfully in the
Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie,
the world cup of baking: American teams overtook the previously dominant French to win gold medals in 1999 and 2005 and a silver medal in 2002.

Additionally, their enthusiasm and generous sharing of knowledge through workshops and "camps," lectures, and books have energized a whole cadre of sophisticated hobbyists. For home bakers who get hooked on the habit of fresh bread from their oven and want to move beyond the simple, streamlined approach offered in
Kneadlessly Simple,
the necessary information is readily at hand. Dozens of fine books and Internet bread bakers' chat rooms and Web sites provide sage discussions of
bigas, preferments, levains,
and such, and abound with photos and descriptions of loaves produced with artisanal attention to detail so aficionados around the country can now obsessively pursue the "ultimate loaf." Particularly if you are interested in learning more about the innovative technique of employing a mash to produce a sweeter-tasting, moister loaf (the method used in my
100 Percent Whole Wheat—Honey Bread
), check out
Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.

My hope is that
Kneadlessly Simple
will entice casual home bakers who lack the time or inclination for such a serious commitment to join today's vibrant bread baking community. As I discovered long ago, the act of gathering together good flour, yeast, and a few other quality ingredients and turning out a simple, honest loaf is profoundly gratifying. It's an experience everyone should have. It doesn't require a fancy kitchen or huge amounts of expertise, and is amazingly easy on the budget. With
Kneadlessly Simple,
it doesn't even take much effort, because the recipes conveniently build in the time and right conditions for nature (or, more accurately, bread chemistry) to take its course and do the work for you.

Occasionally I'm asked if I ever miss making bread the old-fashioned way. I do sometimes miss the leisurely puttering and smooth, soothing feel of dough in my hands, but I'm happy to give up the kitchen mess. I'm also delighted to be able mix my ingredients in literally five minutes, and then to come back much later with the dough fully kneaded and ready for its second rise. The biggest advantage of the
Kneadlessly Simple
approach is that it provides me a trouble-free way to give my family the priceless yet inexpensive gift of memorable homemade bread as often as I like. It can enable you to do the same.

Chapter 1: The Kneadlessly Simple Method: Nine Easy Steps to Great Bread

The
Kneadlessly Simple
method involves nine
remarkably easy steps, all based on certain principles of yeast bread chemistry. First, I'll run through the steps. Then I'll briefly explain the chemistry, so you'll understand why some seemingly unimportant directions matter, and how (and why) the method really works.

1. Stir together the basic dry ingredients like the flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl large enough for the mixture to triple in size.
(If the recipe calls for a little sugar, it goes in, too. But if there's more than 2 tablespoons per cup of flour, the excess sugar is added later.)

2. Stir a heaping cup of ice cubes into the water called for in the recipe; this reduces its temperature to around 50°F.
Don't worry—you don't need to check the temperature, and the ice water won't kill the yeast (I promise!). If the recipe calls for honey, molasses, or a flavorless vegetable oil like corn or canola oil, you mix them into the ice water now. (If it calls for olive oil or butter, these are added separately, as they solidify in ice water.)

3. Stir or mix the ice water mixture into the dry ingredients just until thoroughly blended.
Do this with a spoon, or, if desired, with a heavy-duty mixer. Just remember that while the procedure does develop some gluten, it is not designed to substitute for kneading—its primary function is simply to thoroughly mix the ingredients together. Once the dough is mixed, olive oil or butter is sometimes incorporated.

4. For the absolute best flavor (or for convenience), refrigerate the dough (covered, in its mixing bowl) for at least 3 and up to 10 hours.
The cooling period can be a little shorter or longer if necessary, and this step is optional, but it does have significant chemical benefits and is often a very convenient way to hold the dough overnight or to easily shorten or lengthen the total rise time to better fit your time awake and at home.

5. Set the dough (covered, in its mixing bowl) out on the counter or in any cool spot and let it slowly rise for 12 to> 18 hours, or in some cases 18 to 24 hours.
This step requires no attention whatsoever, but it cannot be skipped. So long as the room is cool, the rising period can extend up to 24 hours, if that's convenient, but don't shorten it much, as this is when the bubbling action of fermentation actually fully kneads the dough. (This step is the reason you can skip all the kneading.) If you don't have a cool (ideally 67° to 70°F) spot, lower the dough temperature by refrigerating it for 3 to 4 hours before beginning the countertop rise, then let it stand out for a maximum of 18 hours. In an extremely warm room, cut the rise time to 15 hours at most.

6. Mix in (using a spoon or sturdy stand mixer) any remaining ingredients.
These include perishables such as dairy products; certain yeast-inhibiting spices and herbs; dried fruits, extra sugar, and other dehydrating items; and, finally, enough more flour to obtain the consistency specified in the recipe. Most (but not all)
Kneadlessly Simple
recipes call for the dough to be stiffened until it's hard to stir before the second rise begins, and it's important to follow this instruction.

7. Briefly stir the dough as directed, and, unless hand-shaping is required, invert it into the baking container for the second rise.
Many
Kneadlessly Simple
breads—including some rustically handsome boules and fancy dessert breads—are shaped entirely or mostly by their baking container. Breads such as French baguettes, Italian ciabattas, cinnamon pinwheel loaves, and finger rolls obviously need some hand-shaping, but this step is often completed on baking parchment to minimize sticking and handling problems as well as kitchen counter cleanup. In many recipes the last stirring actually involves folding the edges of the dough into the center of its bowl using a rubber spatula; this is another small, but important, step.

8. Complete the second rise using the rising option that best suits your schedule.
In place of a traditional 1½- to 3-hour rise, you can choose an easy "accelerated" rise and cut normal rising time almost by half. (Speeding up the second rise won't shortchange flavor because it's already there.) Or, if you need or want to put off baking until much later, simply place the shaped dough in the refrigerator and hold it as long as the recipe permits (usually 24 hours) before completing a regular rise.

9. Bake as directed; let the loaf cool; and enjoy your bread!
Because the
Kneadlessly Simple
method produces "stirrable" doughs, they are likely to be slightly moister and require longer baking than normal to ensure the center is baked through. That's why the recipes routinely suggest a few extra minutes in the oven after loaves appear to be done. If in doubt, remember that with
Kneadlessly Simple,
breads are moist enough that they almost never dry out and actually benefit from what may seem to be overbaking.