My friend Jane and I are constantly swapping recipes back and forth. She lives in Illinois where she works as a legal transcriptionist (fastest typist I know). She and I decided to give the New York Times No-Knead bread recipe a try using our Dutch ovens. She went first, starting her bread on Friday. She reported excellent results last night and said she loved the flavor of the bread as well as the crunchy crust. She's going to experiment with the recipe and try adding some dill seed as well as making some onion bread with it.
I got my dough ready and put it in the oven at 10 p.m. last night. It proofed for 14 hours before I got to stage two. I floured the heck out of a flour sack cloth towel, put the dough ball in and, following the instructions, let it rise another 2 hours. It baked for half an hour at 450° with me removing the lid halfway. This was a dangerous endeavor since I had to remove the rubberized handle from my lid before I put it in the oven since it can't handle temperatures over 375°!
I was amazed that the bread released right out of the Dutch oven
at the end of the baking time. It's very shiny and reminds me of French bread. The recipe is very similar, in fact, containing no sugar or oil. It's not a pretty loaf, with lumps and bumps all over it. There are obviously large bubbles on the surface, which is typical for a dough recipe like this one.Would I do it again? I dunno. The dough stuck mightily to my kitchen towel even though I floured it generously. Taking the handle off the lid meant I had to wrestle with an extremely heavy, hot, handle-less cast iron lid--not for the weak or timid by any means. I have yet to taste this bread but we will give it a thorough taste test tonight at dinner.
The round shape of the loaf is charming and reminds me of the artisan bread that's all the rage these days. So if you like pompous bread, this is the loaf for you! As they say, the proof is in the pudding, so after tonight's taste test I may or may not bake this recipe again. You definitely have to plan for it because it has to rise for a mininum of 12 hours, with 18 hours being recommended. However, if you're stingy with your yeast you'll be happy to know that it takes only 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast.
***After Dinner Update***
The bread was delicious! Nice and chewy but not jaw-breaking. The crust doesn't try to tear your gums off and the flavor is very much like French bread. I made garlic bread with it and it was terrific! There were big bubbles in it that held the garlicky butter like little wells.
That said, this bread is a rough one to make. I think I'll stick with my tried and true method of letting the bread maker or stand mixer make the dough and baking the bread in bread pans instead of a 10 pound cast iron Dutch oven! Although, it is very comforting to know that if push comes to shove I can bake some bread in it.
Half an hour after I got out of bed today I was making bread. I set aside today to bake two loaves of wheat bread (recipe here), a big batch of cloverleaf dinner rolls and a focaccia for supper. It was rainy all day today--the perfect weather for staying inside and baking. My goal was to have some sandwich bread in the freezer to last us a few weeks. I don't want to buy anymore unless I have to.
The focaccia tonight made a delicious meal. Italian spices and minced garlic went into the dough itself, then when it came time to bake it I smeared a third of a cup of chopped garlic, Parmesan, olive oil and a bit of salt all over the top. It baked up so beautiful and golden with the smell of pungent garlic filling the house. I sliced it up into 9 pieces which I then halved, sandwich style. The filling was some sauteed chicken, peppers and onion along with a slice of cheese and some fresh salad greens on top. A big salad on the side and a dessert of lemon pudding made it a meal worth remembering. God it was good! Everyone loved it and we all agreed that this meal was a "do again".
I am full. I am satiated. And now it's time to relax. I am beyond worn out but I am satisfied that I accomplished what I set out to do.
After days like this, I feel like Queen of the Universe!
I'm not Irish but St. Patrick's Day gave me an excuse to make a favorite stew recipe and my first loaf of Irish soda bread. The stew recipe is from Tyler Florence and can be found here. It's a fantastic recipe. I've thrown away all my other beef stew recipes because I've finally got the best one.
The Irish soda bread recipe can be found in any Betty Crocker cookbook in the "Quick Breads" section. You can also read it online here. Since I'd never made it before I wasn't sure what to expect. And this was the first time I've ever kneaded a quick bread! The texture reminded me of heavy biscuit dough and it smelled like pancake batter. The taste was mildly sweet and the raisins added a nice flavor. It wasn't a dry bread, but it was very dense. Here's how it looked when it came out of the oven.
I learned that the cross on the top is not a religious symbol but simply an escape vent for the carbon dioxide that is formed from the baking soda. Without it, the bread would take on an unappetizing exploded look by the end of baking.
