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You are here: Home / Kitchen Chronicles / The Need to Knead

The Need to Knead

October 26, 2009 by Alison

My friend Jackie called me the other morning to tell me about the dough she had made for some “No Knead” bread. She couldn’t contain her excitement! As her cooking friend, I was one of the first people she shared her culinary pleasure with, the one who got to hear how easy it was to stir together the flour, water, salt and yeast.

From the moment I got off the phone with her, I had the bread making itch. I’ll admit I was a bit envious and couldn’t stop thinking about a crunchy, warm delight to share with my family. But, with a particularly busy week, I couldn’t spare even two minutes.

Until . . . Jackie stopped by the next day to report her bread baking success. We sat in my kitchen sipping a quick coffee, while she tantalized me with a description of her freshly baked baguette. As she boasted about the ease, satisfaction and pleasure in her accomplishment, I found myself heading to my own cabinets, looking for the ingredients she just mentioned.

Before I knew it, Jackie guided me in making my own “No Knead” dough. As the flour, water, salt and yeast spun round and round in my KitchenAid mixer, in my mind I was spreading strawberry jam on my freshly baked bread. Her gentle nudge was just what I needed to find my two minutes.

The next day, I took the dough out of the refrigerator to rise. I folded it a few times and molded it into the shape of a baguette. After it sat for two hours, I popped it into the oven. When Jackie and another friend came over for a playgroup lunch, my bread was just about finished. As I sliced the warm and crusty loaf, Jackie remarked how it looked better than hers. I gave her a pat on the shoulder, smiled and thanked her for her inspiration.

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Filed Under: Kitchen Chronicles

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Penny says

    October 26, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    Lovely photo. I enjoy your blog.

  2. Mary says

    October 26, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    I have made a similar recipe and love it. It is
    much like ciabatta.

  3. Kelly says

    October 31, 2009 at 12:07 am

    Where are the directions??? I am a bread-a-holic and this would be perfect w/ some soup for tomorrow nights trick or treating:)

  4. Mary Ann says

    October 31, 2009 at 12:40 am

    3 cups lukewarm water
    1 1/2 T. Granulated Yeast
    1 1/2 T. kosher or other coarse salt
    6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (no need to sift)

    In a 5 quart bowl mix the water, yeast and salt.
    Add flour, using a wooden spoon to mix all ingredients until unformly moist.This will produce a loose and very wet dough. Cover with
    plastic wrap with holes poked in it. Allow mix
    to rise ’til it begins to collapse, at least 2
    hours, bur not more than 5. After rising, the
    bread can be baked immediately or refrigerated
    up to 14 days. It will be easier to work with 3
    hours refrigeration.
    To bake, using a pizza peel or a baking sheet
    turned upsidedown, sprinkle with corn meal.
    Cut a piece of dough about the size of a grape-
    fruit, (1 #), and shape with additional flour
    stretching and pulling the dough into a round.
    Place the dough on the prepared sheet and let
    rest fir 40 minutes, it will not rise much.
    Place a broiler pan on the floor of the oven,
    preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dust the top with
    flour and score with a serrated knife, 1/4′.
    Carefully pour 1 cup boiling water in the broiler
    pan..Bake for about 30 min. until browned. Allow
    the bread to cool completly. Makes 4 1 # loaves.
    Hope this is not too much information, but it is
    simpler than it reads.

  5. Kelly says

    October 31, 2009 at 12:42 am

    Thanks so much. Will try it tonight:P

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About Alison J. Bermack

It all began when I was a child cooking with my dad, the kitchen a magnet for cooking and camaraderie, a refuge from adolescence. I spent countless hours chopping, sautéing and simmering my way through childhood. And now, with three kids of my own, I’m still chopping, but this time through their childhood and often with friends.

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