No Knead Bread

[ea56]

I had been hearing about recipes for No Knead Bread, so I did an online search and came up with these two recipes. One is for Crusty No Knead Rolls and the other is for Crusty No Knead Bread. I made the rolls on Christmas Eve, and they were out of this world! So easy, but best of all absolutely delicious. They had the taste and texture of the kind of Sourdough Bread that is characteristic of the San Francisco Bay Area, that most natives of the area adore.

Yesterday I made the No Knead Crusty Bread, and it too was equally delicious with the same wonderful chewy/crispy crust that makes our areas Sourdough Bread so distinctive. And again, so simple.

Both recipes just call for flour( I used regular All Purpose), a small amount of yeast,salt and water. I followed the overnight recipes for both. I will no longer be buying Sourdough Bread and Rolls at the store since I’ve discovered this truly simple, yet delicious alternative.

Sorry, I didn’t take photos, but both the rolls and the loaf came out exactly like the pictures in the recipe and You Tube videos.

I hope some of you will give these easy and delicious recipes a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Eddie

https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/no-knead-crusty-rolls/

https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/faster-no-knead-bread/

 

[bendix5]

Have made this bread several times. It is well worth the time and it always works out. Perfect for beginners. I am going to give the rolls a try. I am making ham and beans tomorrow so that and green beans will go with it. It is hard to find good crusty bread these days. Enjoy!


I think it was Franco bakeries that made brown and serve sour dough rolls. They were wonderful and now cannot find them anywhere.

My link is pretty much the same recipe as you posted. It has a lot of pics and a video.

Miracle No Knead Bread

Miracle No Knead Bread! this is SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD and ridiculously easy to make. crusty outside, soft and chewy inside - perfect for dunking in soups!

pinchofyum.com

 

[ea56]

Dan,

the Brown and Serve French Rolls you are referring to are made by Franco-American Bakery in Santa Rosa, Calif., just 10 miles from us. They are our favorite store bought rolls, and even though they are baked right in our own backyard, they are hard to find, and very pricey now, $4.49 to 4.99 for a package of 8 rolls. Now that I’ve made these No Knead Rolls, and they are really even better than the Franco-American rolls, from now on I’m making my own.

BTW, the two links that I posted also have You Tube videos in the links. If anyone watches these videos I don’t know how they can go wrong if they make either the rolls or the bread.

I made Tuna sandwiches last night with the bread, OMG, were they ever good! My husband David loves both the rolls and the bread.

Eddie

 

[lordkenmore]

I never tried recipes like this, although I've been curious. Maybe someday I can try it, but I need a Dutch oven first (which isn't happening any time soon on my current Poor White Trash Budget). It would also probably be helpful having an actual oven to use, not just a toaster oven.

Years back, I did sometimes bake one recipe I found in a magazine article that was a no-knead recipe. It was different, however, in that it could be baked in normal pans. I can't honestly remember it that well, but I must have liked it enough, since I baked it more than once.

It's also worth noting: no knead is not as useful as it would have been once. We have gadgets now that can do the hard work. Indeed, it's interesting that no knead bread recipes apparently came out long after the era when hand kneading was the only real option, and families routinely baked bread! Also since this AW.org, we know that one can never, ever have too many kitchen appliances! Still, it's interesting trying something new. (And I can imagine that no knead would be attractive for some people who don't have a food processor/mixer.)

 

[appnut]

Eddie, sounds like your on a roll with David

 

[bendix5]

Eddie, I knew the rolls were Franco something.  We have not been able to find them here in OR and not in Reno either.  I did look at the recipes and  video on your recipe sites and saved them to my bread folder.  I can't wait to make the rolls tomorrow.  JE is excited as well.  We love crunchy breads and rolls.  

 

John you may be able to make 6 rolls at a time in your toaster oven.  After rolling in balls put the 6 a side to rise for the toaster oven and then put the other 6 on a plate to freeze.  After frozen put in freezer bag.  

 

We get a lot of fun and good tasting recipes from this site. 

 

Thanks Guys

 

[ea56]

I’m not adverse to kneading bread dough by hand. In fact in the early 80’s for about 5 years I made all of our bread by hand, two or three loaves of whole wheat every week. I prefer making bread by hand rather than using a machine, and would have no use for a bread making machine.

But that being said, the beauty of these No Knead recipes is the excellent flavor and texture, even more so than the simplicity, although thats a plus too. In my over 55 years of baking and cooking I’ve never before been able to achieve this delightful texture, flavor and chewy/crispy crust with any recipe that required kneading.

The more I think about it, this must have been one of the earliest methods for baking bread. Also, I’ve read in other recipes like this, that keeping the unbaked, rising dough in the refrigerator for up to 7 days makes for an even more sour flavor.

And even if you don’t have a Dutch Oven, you can still bake this bread on a baking sheet, just place a muffin tin on the lower rack, and fill 6 of the cups with boiling water before you place the bread in the oven to bake. But the 450F temp is essential. I don’t have an expensive Le Crueset enameled Dutch Oven, mine is a 5 quart cast iron made by Lodge. It’s important that the handle on the lid is oven proof at 450F. Its the lid that creates the steam while baking and this gives the crust its unique texture.

Eddie

 

[lordkenmore]

I imagine storing dough in the refrigerator helps develop flavor. Bonus: I've seen recipes that suggest one can store a quantity of dough, and slowly use it up baking a bit at a time so one has a supply of bread that is easily used up while fresh.

 

[lordkenmore]

>John you may be able to make 6 rolls at a time in your toaster oven.

One could do that. I can't remember ever doing that, but it's possible I have. Every toaster oven I've used has been big enough to be able to bake a single loaf of bread, and that seemed to work fairly well. There was one recipe I once baked a lot that only made one loaf of bread, and I think I generally baked it in the-then current toaster oven, even though I had an oven back then.

 

[lordkenmore]

>just place a muffin tin on the lower rack, and fill 6 of the cups with boiling water before you place the bread in the oven to bake.

I've done this sort of trick for some bread or other, although I just used a cake pan. (Obviously, this was with a regular oven, back when I had one to use.)

>I don’t have an expensive Le Crueset enameled Dutch Oven, mine is a 5 quart cast iron made by Lodge.

I saw this sort of recipe discussed in a magazine, and they pictured a plain Lodge cast iron Dutch oven. I'd have to assume that would be good enough. Not that my White Trash Budget even supports a $40 Lodge Dutch oven. (I just checked Target.com to verify the rough pricing...and it's interesting that they have a Lodge Dutch oven pictured holding a loaf of freshly baked bread!)

 

[lordkenmore]

>I prefer making bread by hand rather than using a machine

But the last I heard you also oddly like washing dishes by hand! LOL

Seriously, though, I've heard others who like hand kneading.

Personally, I have MIXED feelings about using mixers. (Ha!) Or other gadgets. I've baked both with, and without a stand mixer. One can get by without a mixer. I did that during at least part of the time when I was in two of my more serious bread making phases. Indeed, when I first baked bread, I kneaded manually. But when I started using a KA mixer, I was a bit cynical about the value, but I quickly did come to like the convenience. But I was able to revert to hand kneading later on when I had no other option.

I can't speak about today. I haven't baked bread in a long time. I do suspect that having gadgets might help ME by making it easier/more convenient, and thus increase the chances of me actually making something more or less from scratch.

 

[lordkenmore]

Also...thinking of Dutch ovens, it occurred to me that options might theoretically turn up in thrift stores... I saw, not long ago, an aluminum Dutch oven at Goodwill. Probably priced at more than a new 5 quart pan, that particular Goodwill being what it is. LOL But it was all metal IIRC (including the handle on the lid), and, if reasonably priced, might work.

I also have been wondering about if CorningWare would work... One possible issue: are the lids oven safe to 450? I assume yes, but I also seem to recall hearing that the glass lids aren't as tough as the Pyroceram.

The bottom crust would also probably be different with CorningWare. I have a couple of CorningWare loaf pans, and, as I recall, bread crust ends up being softer than with a metal pan.

 

[kate1]

I make almost all of my family’s bread. I love kneading bread, it’s very cheap therapy for me lol. I do use my Kitchenaid to mix the dough together though, I have to allow myself some conveniences when I’m making 2+ loaves a day. I will have to try these recipes though, the rolls sound particularly good.

 

[bendix5]

I made the rolls today to have with our ham and bean soup. They turned out to be yummy. We like the crunch on the outside. Here are a couple of pics.
Dano

1 just mixed

2 proofed

3 raised 30 min and ready for oven

4 Out of the oven Now we are ready for dinner.

5 soup

 

[ea56]

Dan,

thanks for the great pictures. Your whole process looks just like my experience, and I’m glad that you were happy with the results. I sure is easy and the rolls taste really good too.

Eddie

 

[ea56]

I Made Another Batch

of the rolls today. Here are photos of the rolls after 35 min rise and the finished, baked rolls.

Eddie

 

[gizmo]

You might find this of interest. Simply No Knead is a company based in southern Melbourne that provide bread ingredients, recipes and utensils for no knead baking. They have been around a long time and I used to regularly use their premixes.
As I now eat gluten free, I no longer use their products - they have a gluten free premix but I tend to buy GF bread ready made most of the time.

http://www.snk.com.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?art_id=284&nav_cat_id=219&nav_top_id=92

 

[ea56]

Another Tweak to No Knead Bread

We like Whole Wheat bread for sandwiches and I used to make our sandwich bread 30 plus years ago, but when I went to work for the county the 10 hour days put me off of bread baking on a regular basis.

Well, I got to thinking, why couldn’t the No Knead method work for Whole Wheat sandwich bread baked in regular 5”X9” loaf pans? So I set to experimenting. I first tried just making 1 loaf this way using the amounts of flour, water, yeast and salt as the recipe called for when baking in a Dutch Oven, but forming the dough into a loaf and baking in a buttered loaf pan. I came out fine, but not as high as I like my sandwich loaves to be. So, I increased the amounts and came up with the perfect sandwich loaf.

Here is the recipe:

No Knead Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Makes 2 5”X9” loaves

In an 6 to 8 quart bowl mix together with a whisk:

4 cups Unbleached Flour
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tbs. salt
1 envelope Rapid Rise Yeast
Add:
4 cups cold water
Mix together with the handle of a large wooden cooking spoon, until dough forms and cleans the sides of the bowl. If it seems a little dry, add a tablespoon or two more water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough set out on the counter for 12 to 18 hours.

Now spread about 1/4 cup of flour on a large cutting board and scrape the dough out onto the board using a silcone spatula. Using a bench scraper fold the dough over onto itself about 5 or 6 times, until a ball forms. Cut the dough in half with the bench scraper and press each half out on lightly floured board into an 8”X12” rectangle, roll the dough up from the long side an place into a buttered 5”X9” loaf pan, repeat with the other half of the dough. Cover the pans lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours, until just over the top of the pans.

Preheat the oven to 450 F for 20 mins and bake the loaves for 45 mins, or until the center of the loaves are 190 F, using an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf. Remove the loaves from the pans and brush the tops with vegetable oil and cool on the racks. Wrap the loaves with plastic wrap and store in plastic bag. I keep the extra loaf in the freezer until its needed.

This is a really good, simple bread, with very little effort needed to make it.

Hope that some of you may give it a try. For just one loaf, halve the ingredients.

Eddie