Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Walnut Bread

Walnut Bread

2 1/3 cups/225 grams chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast

1 tablespoon/15 grams sea salt

3 tablespoons/45 milliliters maple syrup

4 tablespoons/60 milliliters walnut oil

2 cups/250 grams whole-wheat flour

3 cups/375 grams bread flour

Coarse cornmeal, for dusting baking sheet

Toast walnuts in an oven or under the broiler. Set aside to cool.

Place yeast in a large mixing bowl. Mix salt into 2 cups (473 milliliters) lukewarm water. Stir into yeast. Stir in maple syrup and 2 tablespoons oil.

Measure 1 cup of the toasted walnuts, place in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the whole-wheat flour and process until finely ground. Add to bowl along with remaining whole-wheat flour. Stir with a wooden spoon.

Add bread flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough forms and leaves the sides of the bowl. (At this point you’re better off mixing with your hands.) Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Continue adding bread flour, kneading as you go, until you have a dough that’s a bit on the soft side, only slightly sticky and easy to handle.

Clean out your bowl, coat it with 1 tablespoon oil, and place dough back into the bowl, turning it so it’s oiled all over. Cover with a cloth and set aside to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down, add remaining toasted walnuts and lightly knead them into the dough. Dust a spacious baking sheet with cornmeal. Divide the dough in half, shape into 2 balls and place on the baking sheet. Cover loosely and let rise for an hour.

Place the oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Slash the tops of the breads with a razor or a lame (a baker’s blade). Do not be tentative about this step; your slashes should be a good half-inch deep, done with a firm, even hand.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. Throw a handful of ice cubes on the floor of the oven to create steam. Bake 20 minutes. By this time the breads should be a nice honey-brown. Brush them with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, reduce heat to 350 degrees, add more ice cubes and bake about 25 minutes longer, until the breads are well browned and sound hollow when tapped. Allow to cool at least 1 hour before cutting.

YIELD - 2 loaves

Whole-Wheat English Muffins

Whole-Wheat English Muffins

2 teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast

4 tablespoons/60 grams unsalted butter

1/2 cup/120 milliliters plain yogurt

1/2 cup/120 milliliters cup warm whole milk

1/2 tablespoon/7 milliliters honey

1 teaspoon/5 grams fine sea salt

1 cup/125 grams whole wheat flour

1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon/4 grams baking soda

Cornmeal, preferably coarse, as needed

In a small bowl combine yeast and 1/3 cup warm water (80 milliliters) and let rest until yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter and put it in a large bowl. Whisk in yogurt, milk, honey, salt and the yeast mixture. Add flours and baking soda to bowl and beat thoroughly with a spoon or rubber spatula until well combined. Cover bowl and let rest in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until dough has doubled.

Heat oven 350 degrees. Lightly dust a small baking sheet with cornmeal.  Place a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon butter. Using a large ice cream scoop or 1/2 cup measuring cup, drop batter into skillet to form round muffins about 4 inches in diameter, mounding the batter in the center. (You may need to coax the dough a little with your fingers, so be careful of the hot pan, and don’t worry if they’re not perfectly circular.) Repeat until you have 3 muffins, leaving the rest of the batter for a second batch. Reduce heat to low. Cover skillet with lid or baking sheet and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown (be careful not to let them burn).

Uncover skillet and flip muffins using a spatula. Cover again and cook 2 to 4 minutes or until the other sides are golden brown. Place muffins on prepared baking sheet. Repeat using remaining batter and another tablespoon of butter. Bake muffins for 6 to 9 minutes, or until puffed and cooked through. Split the muffins with a fork and toast before eating.

YIELD - 6 muffins

Japanese Milk Bread

Japanese Milk Bread

For the starter

1/3 cup/30 grams bread flour

1/2 cup/120 milliliters whole milk

For the dough

2 1/2 cups/325 grams bread flour

1/4 cup/60 grams sugar

2 teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast

1 teaspoon/4 grams salt

1 egg

1/2 cup/115 milliliters warm whole milk, plus extra for brushing on the unbaked loaf

4 tablespoons/60 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened at room temperature, plus extra for buttering bowls and pan

Make the starter: In a small heavy pot, whisk flour, milk and 115 milliliters water (1/2 cup) together until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until thickened but still pourable, about 10 minutes (it will thicken more as it cools). When it’s ready, the spoon will leave tracks on the bottom of the pot. Scrape into a measuring cup and lightly cover the surface with plastic wrap. Set aside to cool to room temperature. (You will have about 1 cup starter; see note below.)

Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt and mix for a few seconds, just until evenly combined.

Add egg, milk and 1/2 cup starter. Turn the mixer on low speed and knead 5 minutes.

Add soft butter and knead another 10 to 12 minutes (it will take a few minutes for butter to be incorporated), until the dough is smooth and springy and just a bit tacky.

Lightly butter the inside of a bowl. Use your hands to lift dough out of mixer bowl, shape into a ball and place in prepared bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes.

Punch the dough down and use your hands to scoop it out onto a surface. Using a bench scraper or a large knife, cut dough in half. Lightly form each half into a ball, cover again and let rise 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In the meantime, generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

Using a rolling pin, gently roll out one dough ball into a thick oval. (By this time, the dough should be moist and no longer sticky. You probably will not need to flour the surface, but you may want to flour the pin.) First roll away from your body, then pull in, until the oval is about 12 inches long and 6 inches across.

Fold the top 3 inches of the oval down, then fold the bottom 3 inches of the oval up, making a rough square. Starting from the right edge of the square, roll up the dough into a fat log, pick it up and smooth the top with your hands. Place the log in the buttered pan, seam side down and crosswise, nestling it near one end of the pan. Repeat with the other dough ball, placing it near the other end of the pan.

Cover and let rest 30 to 40 minutes more, until the risen dough is peeking over the edge of the pan and the dough logs are meeting in the center. Brush the tops with milk and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven until golden brown and puffed, 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour, to let the crust soften and keep the crumb lofty. (If cut too soon, the air bubbles trapped in the bread will deflate.)

NOTE - The starter recipe produces enough to bake 2 loaves, because it’s difficult to cook a smaller amount. Discard the extra starter, or double the dough recipe and bake 2 loaves.