Lazy Bread
Mark Bittman’s article and recipe in the New York Times about Sullivan Street Bakery owner Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread-making method seems to have become the project of the week, and I’m no exception. It involves flour, salt, yeast and water then, without any more than mixing it together, letting it rise for 18 hours or more and baking it in a covered pot. The action of the yeast develops the glutens for you. The method produces bread with an chewy structure and a crisp hearty crust.
On Monday night I mixed together the ingredients and set the covered bowl in the warmest spot I could think of, on top of my fridge. I watched with glee as it went from a wet dough to a frothy and jiggly mass. I was afraid it would stick to the bowl when I went to turn it out onto a work surface but it pulled out fairly cleanly and came away in long sticky strands. I formed it into a ball by folding the sides then top and bottom over onto itself as shown in the video. While I would have loved to buy an expensive enameled cast iron pot just for this, I made due with my 4 quart casserole dish which proved large enough for the job. After baking the bread slipped right out of the pot and I could hear it crackling as it cooled. The crust is delightful (”dangerous and shard-y” declared my dinner companion) and the bread is chewy and airy. It’s delicious with butter or dipped in olive oil. I’m delighted by this bread.
A round up others’ bread can be found here at Smitten Kitten, who also points us towards these Flickr tags for even more - noknead and nokneadbread.
