I am not a bread baker–I reserve my weights and measures for the sweet stuff. But last Saturday, The One and I spent the day with one of LC’s testers, Cindi Kruth. She made the New York Times‘ famous No-Knead Bread using her 23-year-old sourdough starter named Lex. (Why it’s called Lex, don’t ask me.) She was kind enough to give me some of the starter, which we re-named “Lexi, the Spawn.” Here’s my first attempt making the bread using no commercial yeast, just Lexi.
I was wondering what your experiences were with the No-Knead recipe? I feel it needs much more salt (about 2 tablespoons in total), but I was pleased with the rise and shape of Spawn Bread, and its crust was fantastic. I hope as Lexi gets older, it’ll develop more of a sourdough taste–still too adolescent for my taste.
So, David, tell us how you made it?
Cindi, I took I cup of Lexi and mixed it with 3 cups of bread flour, about 1 1/2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of salt. (I’ll bump that to 2 tablespoons next time.) I made the shaggy dough, then followed the recipe’s directions. The only thing I did differently was flip the dough so the seams were on the top so that when I plopped it into the pan, they wouldn’t show.
Next time I think I’ll take your advice of letting it proof in the fridge at least 18 hours then at room temp until doubled–maybe that will give it some more interesting sourdough flavor.
I found out about this fairly early after it hit the big time (I live in Central Illinois, it takes a while…) and have had good success with it. I agree with you that it needs more salt, so I add more too. Cook’s Illustrated (Jan/Feb 2008) had a No-Knead 2.0 that recommended adding some beer and vinegar to the original, but I don’t think it added all that much extra taste. I’ve been experimenting with adding herbs and spices and cheeses to the mix, and that’s working out much better.
The biggest fault I’ve found with the original is that it instructs you to put it in a 7-qt. LeCreuset. The first time I did that, it turned out so flat it was like…uh, a flatbread. Now I use an oval 4.5 quart LeCrueset pot and it’s perfect. My teenager would eat an entire loaf for dinner with dipping oils if he could!
~ Peggasus
Peggasus, thanks for the info. Glad to know someone else uses more salt. I’m always accused of being a salt fiend, but this really needs it. And I agree with you about the pan size. My friend Cindi, from whom I got the recipe (and Lexi the Spawn Starter), uses a small pan, too.
What kinds of cheeses and herbs do you add?
Remind me to send you a copy of this next month:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Kneadlessly-Simple/Nancy-Baggett/e/9780470399866