Blockbuster Bread

Typically, if there is a best-seller, a blockbuster movie or a pop-culture trend I am either an early adopter or I am suspicious of the wave of mass-culture and stay far away.  This is also true in the kitchen, where I really enjoy doing my own thing and making things up.  For the first time in my cooking and baking life, the buzz about a certain dish or technique is so loud, that I simply had to try it myself.  This "No-Knead Bread" by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery and covered by Mark Bittman in a recent New York Times article has taken the foodie world by storm. 

At first I was indifferent, then curious and finally intrigued.  One of the reasons I very rarely make bread is the labor-intensive and manual nature of the proper kneading function.  WELL, NO MORE!!  This bread is as astounding and delicious as promised and far exceeds the expectations I had from all the hype around it.  Quite simply, it's professional quality bread and even though it's time-intensive, it really couldn't be simpler.

You can find the recipe here, make sure to also watch the video first as it helps to answer some questions in advance.  The video doesn't show exactly how the surface of the dough should look when it's sufficiently "bubbled" so I took a photo for you all.  This was mine at 19 hours and I let it go about 30 minutes more.

The recipe recommends all-purpose flour or bread flour.  My choice was King Arthur European Style Artisanal Bread Flour and if you can find it, I recommend it.  When I mixed the dry ingredients, I used my hands and was delighted by the soft and velvety texture of the King Arthur's bread flour.

After the bread mixture sat in my apartment for 20 hours, I took it out, floured a surface and folded it over in thirds twice.  Truly, it will amaze you that you do not knead this bread at all.  Just folding it over four times does the trick.  Here's how it looked after folding and before the final 2 hours of proofing.

In order to make this bread, you need a heavy cast iron or a large ceramic pot with lid.  I had a casserole which may have worked but used the bread as an excuse to buy another pot I've been wanting for a while.  This pot helped make the bread so crusty and gorgeously brown, I really think the cast iron or enameled cast iron makes a difference. 

I made this on a weekend and took it to a friend's home for dinner on a Sunday evening. I had to shoot the photos before we left, therefore unfortunately you don't get to see inside after we sliced it. The crust is crisp and crunchy, but the inside was so light, fluffy, chewy and aerated.  It had wonderful holes and its soft and melting puffiness worked very well with the fisherman's soup my friend served.  I also prepared some tarragon butter which perfectly matched the flavor of the soup and intensified the bread's flavor.

This bread will be our new staple at Scrumptious Street, I'll make it over and over.  The entire apartment smelled so good and reminded me of my mother's homemade loaves when I was a child. The result was perfect and far better than anything bought at a bakery or in a plastic bag.

Comments

[Brilynn]

The crust on this bread is the best part, I've made sooo many loaves already, I eat them in less than a day.

[Yvo]

Oh my god, I just have to make this bread. It's infiltrating my mind, and I HAVE NEVER MADE BREAD EVER IN MY LIFE. Mm.

[Stephanie Beack]

Brilynn, I am well on my way to catching up with you. What variations/flours have you used?

Yvo, go for it. I promise you will love it. Follow the recipe and video exactly, it's SIMPLE. It'll get us all through the winter! And, when your BF doesn't want to eat the yummy veggie soup you make with it, you can slap some meat and condiments on this and he'll think it's the best sandwich ever. :-)

[Manny]

Oh my god Steph... this bread looks so good. I will have to try it. I am soo hungry now and I decided to look through your blog, not a good time. Now I wanna leave work and go home and bake LOL

Cheers!
MG

[Pnac62]

I first tasted this bread at a vacation resort. Can this be purchased anywhere?

[Stephanie Beack]

Hmmm, not sure. Everyone's been making it, I'm sure there are bakeries that sell it too.