Fast no knead bread

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,357
Location
Finchley, London
I'm interested in having a go at bread making. I watched a Jamie Oliver video where he uses strong bread flour, a 7g sachets of yeast, water and hours of waiting for it to inflate before baking in two small tins. That's one option for me.

The other option is in this video which looks even easier and uses a dutch oven. Just wondering if anyone has tried this method? And can anyone recommend me an inexpensive 4 to 5 quart ovenproof dutch oven/casserole dish with lid? The lodge one I've seen mentioned in another thread is too expensive at around £70, I'm thinking more like £20 to £35. On the other hand, it would be cheaper for me to buy a couple of 2L bread tins and do the standard method?

 
Soda-bread is a tasty option if you want fast results, discussed in baking with johnny thread.

yes £70 would be better put towards a bread machine, economic/efficient solution to everyday bread ime
I've not understood the benefit of a dutch oven over a 250Cfan oven, a baking stone and a bit of steam.
 
I've made a start today. Mixed strong white flour with a teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon (under 1 gram) of fast acting yeast.

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Interesting, the recipe calls for such a tiny amount of yeast and my sachets are 7 grams. I was expecting to use more but we'll see how it turns out. It's been sitting for 3 hours since 3pm and has risen. The smell of raw flour, yeast and water is not very pleasant tbh. Anyway, now I need to turn it out onto a floured surface, fold it a few times into a ball shape, and let it sit a further 35 minutes, then bake it in my dutch oven for 30.

Apparently I was supposed to 'aerate' the flour before measuring. I hadn't read that bit till too late, nor did I know what aerate meant (I do now) so I might have put a little more flour in than needed. I've never made bread, this is quite exciting, I shall report back with photos of how well, or bad, it turns out. :)

Update: It was far stickier and messier than I was expecting when folding it, clinging to my hands. I couldn't get it to keep a ball shape. I used the amount of water in the recipe but it's as though there was too much water. Well it's in the oven now, I'll know in about half an hour.
 
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Well, not too bad for a first attempt. Needs a bit of work. I think it needed more flour in the folding part to make it less sticky. It's come out with white spots on the surface, not sure what that is but it's not affecting anything, maybe it's meant to be like that. The inside has some glossy areas, though not wet. Texture of the bread is quite nice and crusty outside and the inside is quite springy, kind of like a crumpet texture. But tastes very good, particularly as toast.







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Yeah, fairly decent. Untoasted though it has a slightly rubbery texture, like crumpets. I'm not sure if it's meant to be like that or if more flour or less water would have prevented that.

I'm pleased though how easy it is to make a loaf of bread in under 5 hours at no cost. I've got tons of yeast and flour which cost pennies and they'll make lots of bread.
 
One tip would be to add your salt and yeast to opposite sides of the dry mix bowl. Pure salt kills yeast. They will eventually all be mixed up, which is ok, but it is generally thought best to keep them apart initially.
 
That looks pretty yummy! I have to admit that when I first read no knead I'd also assumed you'd wanted a fast process as well - but I think I may have a try at that recipe ... and also some soda bread.

I love bread, such a shame as I'm trying to cut down on the carbs I usually only allow myself to eat it on the weekends :(
 
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