In what is surely bound to be the most emailed article at the NYT for the next few days, Mark Bittman has revisited Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread technique. Why? He wanted to make it faster and to use a higher percentage of whole grain.
By using more yeast, Bittman cuts the rising time from 14-20 hours to 4 1/2 hours. The result? A bread that’s “not quite as good as the original” but one that “can be done in an afternoon.”
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Did you try it? The whole wheat version or the faster white? I’m curious…was it tasty?
I tried the whole wheat version today, and I’m not a fan.
I tried it also, it’s good, but I agree with maggie, its not as great as the original. You can really taste the whole grain goodness though.
I have made some definite improvements to the original recipe. First of all I double the ingredients so I get twice the amount of bread in one procedure (I freeze half for later). The only ingredient I don’t quite double is the water — I use three (3) cups even to six (6) cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and 2-1/2 teaspoons salt. I bake this in a six quart cast iron dutch oven.
The greatest improvement is that I turn the dough out on an OILY surface, and fold and shape with OILY hands, using olive oil or canola oil. No added flour!! Works absolutely beautifully — to sticking and no floury mess to clean up! The bread is not as dry either. The biggest nicest loaf I made was half bread flour and half wheat flour.
this recipe has to be a joke by bittman,this sucks,a waste of flower and a long wait…you got me once bittman. go back to spain with mario.