First, thank you to the person who posted the NY Times video site
where I found the no-knead video with Jim Lahey. Sorry, I get the
digest and forgot to note your name.
I've been reading the list sporadically, so if this has been asked
before, I apologize. Somewhere in the postings, I saw the pan size
given as 6-8 quarts. This seems huge. Lahey's pan didn't look that
big, and he didn't say how big it was. I don't have a 6-8 qt pan
with a cover without plastic handles. There's only 3 cups of flour
in the bread, so surely my 2-qt cast iron frying pan is big
enough? What do you think?
Also, I thought Lahey's bread looked burned. I have found that at
500 F, (which is about the temperature advised by him and also for
the breads in the Silverton book) the crust burns and I don't like
it! Someone said to use 450 F (again, I didn't note the
name). Lahey said that inside the pan it would be 212 F (something
about moisture releasing). With the Silverton breads I've tried, I
reduced the temp to 350 F and they were just fine and did not
burn. Any thoughts on this? I know it's done to make a crispy crust
and retain moisture inside, but burned crust is a real turn-off.
Thanks! Lobo