Breadtopia: No Knead Bread

Ingredients for basic yeasted No Knead Method:

3 cups bread flour (the above video used 1 cup (5 oz.) whole wheat flour and 2 cups (10 1/2 oz.) white bread flour
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups purified or spring water

• Mix together the dry ingredients.
• Mix in water until the water is incorporated.
• Cover with plastic and let sit 18 hours.
• Follow video instruction for folding.
• Cover loosely with plastic and rest for 15 minutes.
• Transfer to well floured towel or proofing basket. Cover with towel and let rise about 1 1/2 hours.
• Bake in covered La Cloche or Dutch oven preheated to 500 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover; reduce heat to 450 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.
• Let cool completely on rack.
• Consume bread, be happy.

Further notes: This method of baking is quite forgiving if you alter the ingredients and proportions. One of the great things about a bread recipe that is so easy and involves just one loaf at a time is you don’t feel like you’re risking a lot if your experimenting goes awry.

Try using different flours and/or different proportions of flour and play around with the water measurement a little.

I’ll be posting more videos and recipes on some of my favorite variations of this basic formula over the next few weeks.

I would love to hear from anyone with their experiences using this technique, both successful and otherwise. Please share your experiences below.

(http://www.breadtopia.com/basic-no-knead-method/)

New York Times: No Knead Bread

Published: November 8, 2006

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

The Minimalist: The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work (November 8, 2006)

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ 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 1½-pound loaf.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html)

Bread Baking Problems + Tips

for all breads:

http://www.baking911.com/bread/problems.htm#HOW%20TO%20GET

for bread machines:

http://www.baking911.com/bread/problems.htm#breadproblemsmachine

Slashing: The scoring of some breads before baking is done for a couple of reasons. First, for a beautiful visual appearance and second, this scoring allows the dough to expand quickly during baking so it reaches its maximum volume. It also prevents a "blow out" from happening if bubbles appear under the crust and then burst. Slashing was used historically to also give a distinctive slash to a bread baked along with others in a French communal oven. Since the bread of each household would be mixed with others, a distinctive slash was one way to tell the loaves apart. For regular and large-sized breads: After the shaped Sourdough or Sponge dough rises, glaze and slash top 3-4 times with sharp knife, lightly sprayed with vegetable oil, to prevent dragging. Cut each about 1/4 inch deep at a 30 degree angle. To slash small breads, such as rolls, you can snip a crisscross with kitchen shears. Cut the dough about an inch deep into each roll. You can also slash it if desired.

A BREAD LOAF IS DONE BAKING WHEN: If the bread loaf is taken from the oven just because the outside looks done, the inside may be underdone. To test: My favorite and most accurate way to do test whether a bread loaf is done is to place an Instant Read Thermometer dead center in the bottom of it. If it reads between 190 - 210 degrees F, the bread is done. Another way to test for doneness is to turn the bread out of the pan and tap its bottom and side. If the interior sounds hollow, the bread is done. It should also be evenly browned and smell just wonderful !!


Some Quick Notes on Storing Bread:

If you'll be using your bread within a few days, wrap the loaf so that it's airtight and store at room temperature.

If the loaf is made with perishable ingredients, like meat or cheese, wrap the bread and store it in the refrigerator. Breads that aren't made with perishable ingredients should not be stored in the refrigerator; it will make the bread become stale more quickly.

If you'll be keeping your bread for more than a few days, seal the loaf in a freezer-proof bag. The bread will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Thawing frozen bread will take about 2 to 3 hours at room temperature, or about 6 to 8 minutes on the defrost setting of your microwave. If you slice your bread before freezing, you can toast it straight out of the freezer.

To warm bread, wrap loaf in foil and heat in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 30 minutes. Unwrap bread in the last 5 minutes to produce a crisp crust. Thaw frozen bread thoroughly before warming in oven.

(http://www.baking911.com/bread/101_bake.htm)

Challenge: Pillowy Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Key:

• less moisture = less flour = less chewy, more pillowy
• less kneading = less gluten development = less tough
  

Ideas:

• no need to strain or use potato ricer
• whisking is enough to make smooth...even adds air
• whisk over heat will get rid of moisture
• mix in bowl with a wooden spoon like a cookie dough will allow for least kneading
• if little potatoes, no need to roast...microwave will do as roasting doesn't dry out the potato anyway
  

Game Plan:

1. microwave whole yam (scrubbed, washed, and poked) til can poke a knife inside and pullout easily
   
2. cut in half and scoop out yam into saucier
3. whisk mixture on med / low heat to get rid of moisture
4. pour into big mixing bowl and let cool slightly
5. whisk in 1 egg yolk
6. add sifted 1/3 cup flour and combine with wooden spoon
7. add enough flour til rollable into a ball
8. roll onto floured surface
9. knead lightly 3-5 times to combine better
10. more flour under dough
11. rest 10 minutes
    
12. shape into rectangle with palms
    
13. cut, flour, roll, shape...DONE!
    

Eric Ripert: Phyllo Wrapped Salmon

(http://regisandkelly.go.com/recipe-finder.html?recipeID=8326)

INGREDIENTS:

The Salmon:
4 (5-ounce) salmon fillets, boneless and skinless
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 sheets phyllo dough
3 tablespoons canola oil
fine salt and ground white pepper to taste

The Soy-Mustard Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup lime juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cut chives
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

The Mushroom Casserole:
1 pound mixed mushrooms such as cremini, chanterelles, porcini or morels
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small shallot minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
½ cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Serves 4

For the Salmon:
1. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper on all sides. Brush the top of 1 sheet of phyllo with melted butter and fold the sheet in ½; brush the top with butter again. Place the salmon fillet on one side and roll it in the phyllo dough. Repeat 3 times and reserve.

2. Stir together in a mixing bowl the soy sauce, mustard, lime juice and olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the chives.

3. Divide the canola oil in between two non stick pans and heat over medium heat; add two fillets of salmon to each pan and sauté the salmon for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and a metal skewer can be easily inserted into the fish and, when left in for 5 seconds, feels just warm when touched to the lip. Serve the salmon fillets with vinaigrette.

For the Mushroom Casserole:
1. To prepare the mushrooms, trim the ends and cut them in half depending on size.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F.

3. Heat an oven proof cast iron casserole over medium heat with the canola oil. Add the minced shallot and garlic and lightly sauté until soft. Add the prepared mushrooms and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the butter and roast the mushrooms until tender and lightly browned about 10-15 minutes.

4. Remove the casserole form the oven; place the pan on medium high heat and add the chicken stock. Reduce the chicken stock enough to glaze the mushrooms; add the herbs to the mushrooms and adjust the seasoning.

To Finish:
Serve the Salmon over the Mushroom Casserole and enjoy!

12/9 - Taste Test Gnocchi

Objective: taste test 4 different versions of gnocchi i made

4 types:

1. sweet potato gnocchi, 2nd batch (refrigerated 1 night)
2. sweet potato gnocchi, 2nd batch (froze 1 night)
3. sweet potato gnocchi, 1st batch (froze 1 night)
4. potato gnocchi (froze 3 nights)

Method:

• tested 2 of each at a time
  
• boiled gnocchi in water til floating on top...
• place on a plate and eat sweet potato with granulated sugar and potatoes with salt

Observations:

1. toughest...chewy...not pillowy at all
2. sweetest flavor...a lot softer than #1...freezing does help
3. very similar to #2...guess i made them in about the same way...i thought i used less flour but maybe not...test again later?
4. very soft...best texture of them all...not as smooth as the sweet potato though...shape is slightly different but don't find anything wrong with it...don't need to remake

Conclusions:

• its a good idea to freeze gnocchi
• easy to make sweet potato gnocchi smooth but potato is tougher
• less flour and less kneading better
• in future, to make gnocchi...just make it just like mashed potatoes....cook potatoes, whisk over heat to get rid of moisture, put into big mixing bowl, whisk with egg, add flour and combine with wooden spoon (try 1/3 cup flour per medium sized potato / sweet potato)
  

Proportions

• i want to cook without recipes
• best way is to have easy to remember ratios and proportions for everything...
• bread, gnocchi...i should have made an easy rule of thumb by now....1 potato needs how much flour, how much egg?
• basic recipe of bread needs how much yeast per cup of flour? salt? sugar?