Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2006 02:45:34 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v106.n044 -------------- 001 - debunix Subject: No-Knead Bread Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 20:04:40 -0600 I saw this recipe in the New York Times yesterday and could hardly get home fast enough to try it out. It uses a very wet dough (about 80% hydration), little yeast, long rise, and bakes in a pot in the oven. And you really don't knead it at all. Made my first batch with fresh ground 100% hard white wheat, and it is delicious. http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/293430429/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/293430388/ Try it out. Diane Brown in St. Louis http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/FoodPages.html --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.2 --------------- From: Kenneth McMurtrey Subject: no knead bread Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:51:57 -0600 The New York Times (web edn.) has a recipe and description of "no knead" bread. The recipe uses very little yeast, has high hydration, a long 18 hr. proof, and is baked in a Dutch oven, covered, for part of the time. You can find it under Dining and Wine section at www.nytimes.com. The title of the article is: The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.3 --------------- From: Judi9826@aol.com Subject: Re: softer crust Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:38:14 EDT To get a softer crust on any of the breads I make i do exactly as you said except that I wet the towel that I put over the baked bread and squeeze out all the water possible, then lay it on the cooling bread. Works every time. Judi --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.4 --------------- From: David A Barrett Subject: Re: Breakfast in Paris Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:55:50 -0400 I don't know if they do breakfast (probably), and I can't remember where Place du Chatelet is but, you must go to Angelina's for hot chocolate and dessert. Google it, you'll find it. It's near the Louvre, opposite the Tuileries. I've been to Paris a number of times, and didn't know about Angelina's until some friends went there and then told us about it. So we went a month ago. I now consider every previous trip to Paris to have been, in some small way, wasted. Dave Barrett --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.5 --------------- From: "Mike Scott" Subject: Very tasty Indian chapatis Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:31:40 -0400 Hi, I came across this recipe in an Indian cookbook while vacationing on Vancouver Island this past summer. My wife and I love Indian food and we often have a dinner of lentil dahl and curried vegies, all slurped down with this warm, chewy Indian flatbread...easy to make and soooo much fun to eat! This recipe makes 8 chapatis: Ingredients: 2 cups Atta flour - a very finely ground hard durum whole wheat flour found in south Asian groceries. 1 tsp salt 1 cup warm water 1) Mix the flour and salt...make a well and add the water...mix by hand or spoon into a dough and knead on a floured counter for 8-10 minutes. OR In a food processor, pulse the salt and flour, then add the water slowly while pulsing...process for 15 seconds after dough forms...then knead briefly on the counter. 2) Cover dough with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes to 12 hours in a cool, dark place (I find 6 hours is plenty). 3) Divide dough into 8 pieces...roll each one into ball, then flatten and roll outward until it's around 8 inches in diameter. 4) Rub a skillet (preferably cast iron for best results) with a little cooking oil and set at medium-high heat. 5) When your skillet is hot, sautee a chapati on one side for 15 seconds...then flip it over and cook for approximately 1 minute until small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the bread...then flip it again and finish cooking for another 1 minute...in this last cooking stage, a perfect chapati will start to balloon...gently press on any bubbles that form to help the bread balloon (I use my egg lifter)...avoid burning the bread. 6) Repeat step 4 &5 for each of the chapatis. Is that easy or what...eh??!!...if you like Indian food, you will LOOOOOVE these chapatis. I even use them for wraps to make tuna or chicken salad sandwich wraps...the kids love 'em and they are so much tastier than the store bought wraps. For a variation, you can add 1-2 tbsp of oil or butter to make a more tender bread...add this to the flour before the water...you can also add more oil to the skillet to achieve a similar outcome. Next up, I am going to try my hand at other Indian breads: dosas, naan, idlis, hoppers and dhokla...I post any noteworthy results in the near future. Mike --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.6 --------------- From: Tarheel_Boy@webtv.net (Tarheel Boy) Subject: Welcome to the Fresh Loaf Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:34:12 -0400 Here's an interesting site for all you artisan bakers: Bob the Tarheel Baker --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.7 --------------- From: "John Mulholland" Subject: Introducing bakersforums.com... Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:42:41 -0500 Hi all, We've created a new state-of-the-art, free, public forum dedicated to the art of baking. Powered by vBulletin, the site is at the cutting edge of forum-style websites and is feature-rich and easy to use. Please stop on by www.bakersforums.com and register today! Enjoy real time discussions on any topic related to baking - amateurs and professionals welcome and wanted! The site is still in a rough state and we'll need help refining it and making it the best online baking forum available. Please post suggestions in the "Suggestions" forum and we'll get right on them. We'll need a logo and have created a logo competition forum - post your logo and we can all vote later on which logo will grace bakersforums.com. The winner will be awarded a $50 gift certificate for www.bakerscatalogue.com (King Arthur Flour). We will also need moderators to keep the forum clean and friendly - if you're interested in becoming a moderator please use the "contact us" link at the bottom of the page. Thanks for participating, -John Mulholland and the bakersforums.com team. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.8 --------------- From: THOS E SAWYER Subject: Paris bakery request Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:49:18 -0800 (PST) Someone asked where is a good bakery in Paris near the Hotel DeVille. I emailed my brother who has a condo there, and he said Chez Paul is a very good bakery about 3 blocks away. Chez Paul has other branches, and is considered an excellent bakery. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.9 --------------- From: "Gerald Ulett" Subject: Water Bath Proofing Box Problem and Solution Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:59:42 -0800 In addition to baking, I make yogurt using 5 gallons of milk at a time. After looking at the proofing box picture and comment last week, it occurred to me that in addition to proofing dough, it would be an almost perfect box for incubating yogurt for the six or so hours which it takes at about 108 degrees. I already had nearly everything needed, except for the two plastic bins. Target had a large selection including some smaller ones which would work well for my use, so I bought them, took them home and set up the incubator. Unfortunately, the bins which I bought did not have flat bottoms, but rather bottoms which created a slight dome inside. What happens is that the water in the bottom container is not in contact with the bottom of the upper container because there is air trapped between them. Today, I bought two different containers with flat bottoms and will try them for incubating yogurt soon. I see no reason why they will not work and in as much as I bought fairly large ones this time, they should work for proofing dough too. Incidentally, I use a reptile tank thermostat for temperature control and monitor the temperature in the upper container. I also place a small battery operated fan in the upper container for better air circulation.. Jerry Ulett in Seattle --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.10 --------------- From: "Lisa Worthington" Subject: I know this is simple Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:56:13 -0600 Greetings, I enjoy this loop and I need to ask some probably simple questions. I have been baking in Hodge podge glass ware. My husband found some steel bread pans for me to try. Do I need to turn the oven down some from how I normally make bread because of the different pans? Also, on another topic, does anyone have a recipe for rice bread? It would need to be something simple and mild. My daughter had an allergy to corn and all its products, but she enjoys the bread I make when I put in some rice flour. Usually I just make wheat bread because I am still new at this. Thank you for any help. Lisa --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.11 --------------- From: "Steven Leof" Subject: Eric Kayser Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 15:53:58 -0000 Is anyone familiar with the recently published book by the renowned Paris baker Eric Kayser "100% Pain : La saga du pain enveloppée de 60 recettes croustillantes" (100% Bread: The saga of bread wrapped in 60 crusty recipes)? His bakeries in Paris are fabulous (www.maison-kayser.com). Elegant grocer Hediard (opposite it's rival Fauchon in the Madeleine) sells only his bread. Apparently last year Kayser opened under the name Breadbar in Beverly Hills and Century City (www.breadbar.net) to good press so perhaps an English translation is in the pipeline? Steven Leof --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.12 --------------- From: Steve Cabito Subject: The Minimalist method Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2006 11:49:00 -0800 There's a fascinating article (and video) about a method of making a boule "so simple a 4-year-old can do it" at the NY Times. I have to admit that the end result looks great. Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?em&ex=1163134800&en=a25918d1aead20f6&ei=5087 -Steve --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.13 --------------- From: Tarheel_Boy@webtv.net (Tarheel Boy) Subject: My friend Erika sent this to me... Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 07:49:03 -0500 November 8, 2006 THE MINIMALIST The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work By MARK BITTMAN INNOVATIONS in bread baking are rare. In fact, the 6,000-year-old process hasn't changed much since Pasteur made the commercial production of standardized yeast possible in 1859. The introduction of the gas stove, the electric mixer and the food processor made the process easier, faster and more reliable. I'm not counting sliced bread as a positive step, but Jim Lahey's method may be the greatest thing since. This story began in late September when Mr. Lahey sent an e-mail message inviting me to attend a session of a class he was giving at Sullivan Street Bakery, which he owns, at 533 West 47th Street in Manhattan. His wording was irresistible: "I'll be teaching a truly minimalist breadmaking technique that allows people to make excellent bread at home with very little effort. The method is surprisingly simple - I think a 4-year-old could master it - and the results are fantastic." I set up a time to visit Mr. Lahey, and we baked together, and the only bad news is that you cannot put your 4-year-old to work producing bread for you. The method is complicated enough that you would need a very ambitious 8-year-old. But the results are indeed fantastic. Mr. Lahey's method is striking on several levels. It requires no kneading. (Repeat: none.) It uses no special ingredients, equipment or techniques. It takes very little effort. It accomplishes all of this by combining a number of unusual though not unheard of features. Most notable is that you'll need about 24 hours to create a loaf; time does almost all the work. Mr. Lahey's dough uses very little yeast, a quarter teaspoon (you almost never see a recipe with less than a teaspoon), and he compensates for this tiny amount by fermenting the dough very slowly. He mixes a very wet dough, about 42 percent water, which is at the extreme high end of the range that professional bakers use to create crisp crust and large, well-structured crumb, both of which are evident in this loaf. The dough is so sticky that you couldn't knead it if you wanted to. It is mixed in less than a minute, then sits in a covered bowl, undisturbed, for about 18 hours. It is then turned out onto a board for 15 minutes, quickly shaped (I mean in 30 seconds), and allowed to rise again, for a couple of hours. Then it's baked. That's it. I asked Harold McGee, who is an amateur breadmaker and best known as the author of "On Food and Cooking" (Scribner, 2004), what he thought of this method. His response: "It makes sense. The long, slow rise does over hours what intensive kneading does in minutes: it brings the gluten molecules into side-by-side alignment to maximize their opportunity to bind to each other and produce a strong, elastic network. The wetness of the dough is an important piece of this because the gluten molecules are more mobile in a high proportion of water, and so can move into alignment easier and faster than if the dough were stiff." That's as technical an explanation as I care to have, enough to validate what I already knew: Mr. Lahey's method is creative and smart. But until this point, it's not revolutionary. Mr. McGee said he had been kneading less and less as the years have gone by, relying on time to do the work for him. Charles Van Over, author of the authoritative book on food-processor dough making, "The Best Bread Ever" (Broadway, 1997), long ago taught me to make a very wet dough (the food processor is great at this) and let it rise slowly. And, as Mr. Lahey himself notes, "The Egyptians mixed their batches of dough with a hoe." What makes Mr. Lahey's process revolutionary is the resulting combination of great crumb, lightness, incredible flavor - long fermentation gives you that - and an enviable, crackling crust, the feature of bread that most frequently separates the amateurs from the pros. My bread has often had thick, hard crusts, not at all bad, but not the kind that shatter when you bite into them. Producing those has been a bane of the amateur for years, because it requires getting moisture onto the bread as the crust develops. To get that kind of a crust, professionals use steam-injected ovens. At home I have tried brushing the dough with water (a hassle and ineffective); spraying it (almost as ineffective and requiring frequent attention); throwing ice cubes on the floor of the oven (not good for the oven, and not far from ineffective); and filling a pot with stones and preheating it, then pouring boiling water over the stones to create a wet sauna (quite effective but dangerous, physically challenging and space-consuming). I was discouraged from using La Cloche, a covered stoneware dish, by my long-standing disinclination to crowd my kitchen with inessential items that accomplish only one chore. I was discouraged from buying a $5,000 steam-injected oven by its price. It turns out there's no need for any of this. Mr. Lahey solves the problem by putting the dough in a preheated covered pot - a common one, a heavy one, but nothing fancy. For one loaf he used an old Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot; for another, a heavy ceramic pot. (I have used cast iron with great success.) By starting this very wet dough in a hot, covered pot, Mr. Lahey lets the crust develop in a moist, enclosed environment. The pot is in effect the oven, and that oven has plenty of steam in it. Once uncovered, a half-hour later, the crust has time to harden and brown, still in the pot, and the bread is done. (Fear not. The dough does not stick to the pot any more than it would to a preheated bread stone. The entire process is incredibly simple, and, in the three weeks I've been using it, absolutely reliable. Though professional bakers work with consistent flour, water, yeast and temperatures, and measure by weight, we amateurs have mostly inconsistent ingredients and measure by volume, which can make things unpredictable. Mr. Lahey thinks imprecision isn't much of a handicap and, indeed, his method seems to iron out the wrinkles: "I encourage a somewhat careless approach," he says, "and figure this may even be a disappointment to those who expect something more difficult. The proof is in the loaf." The loaf is incredible, a fine-bakery quality, European-style boule that is produced more easily than by any other technique I've used, and will blow your mind. (It may yet change the industry. Mr. Lahey is experimenting with using it on a large scale, but although it requires far less electricity than conventional baking, it takes a lot of space and time.) It is best made with bread flour, but all-purpose flour works fine. (I've played with whole-wheat and rye flours, too; the results are fantastic. You or your 8-year-old may hit this perfectly on the first try, or you may not. Judgment is involved; with practice you'll get it right every time. The baking itself is virtually foolproof, so the most important aspect is patience. Long, slow fermentation is critical. Mr. Lahey puts the time at 12 to 18 hours, but I have had much greater success at the longer time. If you are in a hurry, more yeast (three-eighths of a teaspoon) or a warmer room temperature may move things along, but really, once you're waiting 12 hours why not wait 18? Similarly, Mr. Lahey's second rising can take as little as an hour, but two hours, or even a little longer, works better. Although even my "failed" loaves were as good as those from most bakeries, to make the loaf really sensational requires a bit of a commitment. But with just a little patience, you will be rewarded with the best no-work bread you have ever made. And that's no small thing. Bob the Tarheel Baker --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.14 --------------- From: "Steven Leof" Subject: No-Knead Bread adapted by Mark Bittman from Jim Lahey, Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:17:46 -0000 Street Bakery The following recipe with accompanying article and video was published yesterday in The New York Times. As those of you who are familiar with The Sullivan Street Bakery know their product is very good. I haven't tried this technique yet but imagine it is worthy. Recipe: No-Knead Bread Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 1 1/4 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 F. 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 F. 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 1 1/2-pound loaf. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v106.n044.15 --------------- From: Reggie Dwork Subject: bread-bakers is back! Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 15:18:12 -0800 Sorry for the gap. There just wasn't enough time to get the digest out the past few weeks. Reggie & Jeff --------------- END bread-bakers.v106.n044 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2006 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved