Second Attempt at No-Knead Bread – Hertzberg’s Recipe

May 19, 2008

I tried Jeff Hertzberg’s no-knead bread, originally found here, again this past Friday, and the first loaf gave me better results (I haven’t cooked the second yet). Feel free to check out my first attempt at no-knead bread or a cost analysis of said bread.

This attempt began in the same way, with 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast, and 2 teaspoons of salt. I used the rapid-rise yeast again, so this time, on the advice of a commenter, I mixed the dry ingredients first before adding the water.

Unfortunately, I forgot to halve the water in the recipe and added 2 cups (instead of 1 1/2) before I realized my mistake. To correct it I added another cup of flour and mixed. It didn’t seem to have a serious effect on the bread.

This time, I let the bread rise for about 2 hours, cut off half of it, formed it into a ball on a piece of parchment paper, and let it rest for about another hour.

I put the remaining half of the dough into a Tupperware container and into the fridge, with the lid slightly cracked for the first 24 hours. I closed it tightly after that. I just checked the container today and the bread is still moist.

Back to the loaf I baked, I preheated the oven, with the pizza stone and metal pan inside, to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. When it was ready, I sliced the top of the re-risen loaf, slid it onto the baking stone and poured a cup of hot water into the pan below.

I let the loaf bake for about 25 minutes, when the internal temperature read around 205 degrees on the thermometer. I allowed the dough to rise more, which created a loaf less dense then last time. It tasted quite good, but then again, what fresh bread doesn’t. Sometime this week I am going to try the remaining half in a bread pan and see how that turns out.

Here are a couple good discussions on this recipe of no-knead bread and another no-knead bread by Jim Lahey, which requires a rising time of 18 hours, but much less yeast. The Wednesday Chef prefers Lacey’s, but some of the commenters seem to like Hertzberg’s more. Experimentation must continue!

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