Delicious Bread from a Home Bakery

The original technology behind No-Knead Bread was developed by Jim Lahey, who learned to bake bread in Italy in the 1990s. Jim learned to bake bread in Italy in the 1990s, but it wasn't until much later that he developed the No-Knead method: in 2006, Mark Bittman of The New York Times was invited to Lahey's Sullivan Street Bakery to see how easy it was to bake bread. The rest is history.

I first heard about this story in the summer of 2011. I went to my local farmer's market and bought a loaf of bread called No-Knead Bread from Mark Bittman. I love artisan bread that are crispy on the outside and crunchy on the inside. I had heard of Mark Bittmans so I was interested. I brought home a loaf, tasted it, and fell in love with it. I looked up the recipe on the internet and found it everywhere. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that the recipe was from Jim Lahey.

Recipe comparison

Mark Bittman's recipe differs from Lahey's recipe in a few small ways. I have used both recipes and can say that I prefer Bittman's version, at least in my home oven. Lahey uses less water and a 500-degree oven; Bittman uses a little more water and a 450-degree oven. I don't like the skin to turn black, so I opted for 450 degrees. The water issue is a matter of choice. Two tablespoons of more water gives a much larger interior with holes. Less water gives a more even grain inside the bread. Either way, you get a fairly hard loaf of bread, and it's easy to adjust the temperature and baking time.

My experience with no-knead bread

I have been making bread according to Mark Bittman's version for over a year now. Sometimes I made it three times a week when I had guests over. Then I was intrigued and went to my local library. I picked up a book called "My Bread" by Jim Lahey and discovered a whole new world of bread. To the same basic recipe, Lahey added a few things for seasoning. I made several of these loaves and they all turned out wonderful. One was topped with walnuts and raisins and was simply delicious. One is called "Jim's Brown Bread" and is a variation of Irish bread with a beer in the dough. Another recipe adds a half-pound of cubed cheese to the dough. I also added slices of grilled bacon. All of the recipes were delicious. The bacon bread could almost be a sandwich on its own.

If you haven't embraced this trend yet, I encourage everyone to give it a try. The only requirement is that the pan is very sturdy and can withstand oven temperatures of 450-500 degrees. These include enameled cast iron pans, claypans with lids, or Pyrex glass pans with lids. The size of the pan should be between 6-8 quarts so that the bread can be filled during baking.

A pan with a lid is necessary to prevent steam from penetrating the dough, which is very moist. The inability to retain enough steam is the curse of any home baker trying to create an artificial crust. When the dough is hot and in a tight space, the steam needed to achieve a perfect crust forms in the pan. When the bread is removed from the oven, it literally seems to sing. As the bread cools, it makes many interesting noises that are pleasant to hear: ticking, squeaking, and hissing.

In fact, the whole process, which takes 16 to 18 hours, only requires about 15 minutes of attention in total. Mix the four ingredients the night before, cover them and let them sit overnight while you sleep. In the morning, turn them over and let them rest for another 15 minutes. Mold and let rise; after 1½ hours, put the empty pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan, add the risen dough, cover again and bake for 30 minutes or, if you prefer, bake covered for an additional 10 to 30 minutes. During this time, you can do many other household tasks. This recipe will not disappoint, so don't hesitate to try it.