No Knead Bread

This weekend I finally got around to trying the famous "No Knead Bread" technique by Jim Lahey and introduced to the world by Mark Bittman in the New York Times. I had talked to a guy I know from the climbing gym about it after a day climbing at Jailhaus, and he loves it. Seeing as he is a pastry chef and Chez Panisse alumnus, I hold his baking opinion in very high esteem. On Monday I headed to what turns out to be a truly fantastic kitchen place called the Chef's Warehouse. It's just a stone's throw from where I work, and is absolutely off the scale fantastic. They have *everything*, and I ended up buying a lot of stuff that I hadn't planned on. Ramikens? $1 each! Gourmet Standard pots and pans (rated by Cooks Illustrated as performing as well as my beloved all clads)? 60% off. Le Creuset at bargain prices? Check. Knock off le creusets for those of us that think $170 for a 3 quart cast iron pot is absurd? Check (I went with the Cuisinart knock off).

Anyway, with the pot in hand I got to work. I was using the Cook's Illustrated Version (pasted in below in case that page goes away). I really like the parchment trick. The first two loaves were so-so. Good, because any fresh baked bread from the oven is hard not to love, but not exceptional. The third loaf, however, was great. A perfect crust, and very minimal effort. Here's what I have learned so far: that second rising is not strictly necessary. Whole wheat flour, and specifically the whole wheat flour from Trader Joe's, does not work as well as plain unbleached white flour.






Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Instructions



1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.


2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.


3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.