Jenise wrote:Larry, why more work? Is it because of the detailed steps?
Notice that I said "seemed." I can't quite put my finger on it, but let's compare it to a recipe that I frequently bake. Some of the 5-min. actions can be done quicker, but I estimated the same amount of time for similar actions in each recipe:
Kneaded Bread
5 min. Mix flour, yeast, salt, etc.
5 min. Knead w/Kitchenaid
45-60 min. 1st rise
30-40 min. Punch down, shape into boule, 2nd rise
5 min. Glaze surface, sprinkle seeds, slash
30 min. Bake
2-2:45 hrs total (let's say 3 hours)
Unkneaded Bread
5 min. Mix flour, yeast, salt, etc.
rest 18 hrs.
5 min. Fold
15 min. Rest
5 min. Shape, place on blanket
2 hrs. rise
5 min Remove baking container, place dough within
30 min. Bake, covered
15-30 min. Uncovered
Not counting the 1st rise:
3:20 to 3:35 hrs. (Roughly a little more time)
My particular gripe was handling a 450F ceramic pot with a lid. I will admit the bread had good flavor because of the long rise.
As an aside: I teach a writing class every Monday. Last week I had a drawing for a loaf of my kneaded homemade bread (above) for those people who correctly used "that" vs "which" in a sentence.
Yesterday, after class, the student was raving about my bread he had won and asked me if I had read the NY Times last week (concerning the unkneaded bread). I told him that not only had I read it, the featured unkneaded bread came out of my oven only 15 minutes before the class started and I would eat a slice when I got home. Ain't the universe weird?