Has anyone tried the no-knead method of making bread?

Reporting back (better late than never). The bread turned out great despite using a different type of yeast and over heating the oven. My second try was better and I'll continue to use it, along with knead bread recipes. It's definitely a keeper. I'm going to make it to go with our Thanksgiving cassoulet dinner.

As I made my pane pugliese from The Itlaian Baker, it occ. to me that this, my favorite loaf, is nearly no knead (I almost wrote : no need...um, no. I definitely NEED this bread)...

Using a starter, you make the v. sticky dough (described in the article)...You pour it onto a well-floured board, divide into three pieces. Flatten and roll, flatten and roll (I don't need it, I just pat it down, then roll it up)...shape it into round loaves and that is it...

I didn't even think about this when reading the article, but it's pretty much as he describes it and, like I said, it is my absolute fave. bread.

Barb

[Jenise]

Barb, I passed the recipe onto a friend who has struggled to make good bread all his life he said, and who had seen the NYT article. I saw the loaf he made the other day with this recipe, using bread flour and skipping the containerized baking--he just let it rise conventionally and it went straight to the oven on a silpat. The result could have come from any bakery in town: it was 4 proud inches tall (and if I'm wrong by half an inch then it was even taller), perfectly oval, had some nice big holes and a fabulous crust. Quite a masterpiece. There isn't a soul in the world who would have looked at a cut piece and said, "this really should have been kneaded."

I've got two loaves proofing on the counter right now. T-day!

Bumping

Bittman published an interesting update on this technique; highlights include:

"In the last few weeks Jim Lahey’s recipe has been translated into German, baked in Togo, discussed on more than 200 blogs and written about in other newspapers. It has changed the lives (their words, not mine) of veteran and novice bakers."

WEIGHT VS. VOLUME The original recipe contained volume measures, but for those who prefer to use weight, here are the measurements: 430 grams of flour, 345 grams of water, 1 gram of yeast and 8 grams of salt.

SALT levels can be increased without affecting rising times.

YEAST -- any kind can be used.

TIMING About 18 hours is the preferred initial rising time. Some folks are successful with eight hours; Bittman has gone for 24 hours.

Room temperature will affect the rising time, and so will the temperature of the water you add (I start with tepid). Like many other people, I’m eager to see what effect warmer weather will have. But to those who have moved the rising dough around the room trying to find the 70-degree sweet spot: please stop. Any normal room temperature is fine. Just wait until you see bubbles and well-developed gluten — the long strands that cling to the sides of the bowl when you tilt it — before proceeding.

THE SECOND RISE Bittman increased it to two to three hours; some folks skip it and let it rest for a few minutes after shaping

OTHER FLOURS Up to 30 percent whole-grain flour works consistently and well, and 50 percent whole-wheat is also excellent. At least one reader used 100 percent whole-wheat and reported “great crust but somewhat inferior crumb,” which sounds promising. I’ve kept rye, which is delicious but notoriously impossible to get to rise, to about 20 percent. There is room to experiment.

FLAVORINGS The best time to add caraway seeds, chopped olives, onions, cheese, walnuts, raisins or whatever other traditional bread flavorings you like is after you’ve mixed the dough. But it’s not the only time; you can fold in ingredients before the second rising.

OTHER SHAPES Baguettes in fish steamers, rolls in muffin tins or classic loaves in loaf pans: if you can imagine it, and stay roughly within the pattern, it will work.

COVERING BETWEEN RISES A Silpat mat under the dough is a clever idea (not mine). Plastic wrap can be used as a top layer in place of a second towel.

THE POT The size matters, but not much. Readers have reported success with just about every available material.

BAKING You can increase the initial temperature to 500 degrees for more rapid browning, but be careful; I scorched a loaf containing whole-wheat flour by doing this. Yes, you can reduce the length of time the pot is covered to 20 minutes from 30, and then increase the time the loaf bakes uncovered. Most people have had a good experience baking for an additional 30 minutes once the pot is uncovered.

As these answers demonstrate, almost everything about Mr. Lahey’s bread is flexible, within limits. This method is going to have people experimenting, and largely succeeding, until something better comes along. It may be quite a while.

***

The food discussion group on the Times site had a field day with this technique -- and posts keep coming in almost every day.

Article here; free registration required.

I love this recipe. The bread that we have made from it has been nothing short of celestial. My 5-year-old son has even helped to make it (just like the original article claims).

I will still continue to make kneaded bread, though. I think that I can procure a better sandwich loaf this way. And there is something very therapeutic about kneading bread. I do a cardamom loaf that, when you knead it, sends drafts of cardamom wafting into your face. It is really very magical. I always feel like an elf or faeiry when I make this bread.

But the No Knead is definitely in my repertoire to stay.

Bob,
I tried this with two variations, just flour, salt, yeast and water and then with some whole wheat and grains. They were both miserable failures. Good bread is just too easy to make. I found this much to time consuming and the reults very poor. Yeah you don't knead it but how difficult is that. Most people knead bread too long so maybe that should be the theme of the next article.
Walt