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Re: gummy no-knead and new NYTimes no-knead recipe

aqn@panix.com
Sun, 9 Dec 2007 14:47:52 -0500 (EST)
v107.n036.2
FMTZ@aol.com wrote:
>Subject: Re: gummy no-knead and new NYTimes no-knead recipe
>Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 16:04:50 EST
>
>Dear Jeanette:
>
>We had the same problem even when the bread was baked for a full 
>50-60 minutes - 30 minutes in the pot, 15 minutes in the pot with 
>the lid off and 10-15 minutes out of the pot on a baking stone.
>
>THEN we decided to shut off the oven, put the door ajar and let the 
>bread cool slowly as the oven cooled. Voila - nice crusty bread, big 
>holes, no moistness or gumminess  inside.
>
>I believe that what happens is that the crust forms fairly fast in 
>the sealed pot - so fast that the moisture in the interior doesn't 
>have a chance to escape or dissipate sufficiently.

This is a conjecture, but I believe that SLOW crust development is 
one of the big factors in no-knead bread.  The loaf is baked in a 
SMALL tightly sealed vessel, which seals in steam/moisture for a 
long(er) time, resulting in slow development of the crust which 
allows the dough more time to do its "oven spring" before the crust 
hardens too much.

>We might try, the next time, to take the lid off after 15 minutes of 
>baking. By then, the benefits of the contained moisture should have 
>been achieved. Experiment a little with a slightly lower temperature 
>too and with the amount of water you use. You don't have to be 
>slavish about the formula.

I agree: experimentation is definitely the key to no-knead bread, 
indeed, to all of bread baking, since it's impossible to duplicate 
EVERY factor in somebody else's recipe:  the type/brand/composition 
of flour and of yeast, water, weather (temperature, humidity), etc.

>Finally, have you seen the 'new' approach to artisanal bread?
><http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html?em&ex=3D1195880400=&en=3D38f2e2bf176e2383&ei=3D5087>
>
>New York Times
>November 21, 2007
>
>Recipe: Simple Crusty Bread
>
>Adapted from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg 
>and Zoe Francois (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)
>
>1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
>1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
>6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Holy smoke!  1.5 TABLESPOONS of yeast?!  That is a LOT of yeast! By 
my calculations, (1C flour is 4.5 ozs, 1T is 3t), that's 2.5% salt by 
weight and 1.7% yeast by weight.  By contrast, the NYT no-knead 
recipe is about 0.6% salt and 0.9 % yeast by weight.  I wonder if the 
big amount of yeast is one of the factor in this no-knead recipe...

Andy Nguyen