Monday, May 30, 2011

Quick Crusty, 'Holey' Bread

I've been baking bread for almost two years now. I've never been to any baking classes actually but I learned from the internet and books. I believe that it isn't really necessary to take up the classes but if you want to understand further on what you should do (if you don't like to read), then perhaps you might want to attend those classes. However, I prefer to learn from the books and internet but maybe someday, if I decide to open up a bakery, maybe I will go on a short course or something like that.

Today, I finally decided to make a no-knead bread. I've always thought that a good bread needs a good, long kneading process. All these while, I was intimidated by the thoughts of my bread being stone hard if I didn't knead it. But I was wrong. Kneading is not essential to a good bread. You can still get the perfect texture with a no-kneading bread recipe. However, I must say that the texture is different from the kneaded bread. This bread has a very nice crust with a chewy texture on the inside.

Recipe (3 small loaves) :
Source : ShareMyKitchen
  • 500g bread flour
  • 370ml lukewarm water
  • 1 tbsp of honey
  • 1 1/4 tsp of yeast
  • 1 tsp of salt
Method : 

1. Dissolve honey in the lukewarm water. 
2. Put the bread flour into a big bowl and add yeast. 
3. Pour in the lukewarm water with honey.
3. Mix them together with a fork while adding the salt. The dough will be soft and sticky and not smooth.
4. Let it rise for an hour or so.
5. Line the baking tray with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 220C.
6.  When the dough has doubled, transfer the dough onto a generously floured surface. Shape them into 3 small loaves. 
7. Try to transfer the dough with the flour facing up or you can just sprinkle some flour onto it after it has been transferred to the baking tray.
8. Bake for about 15-20 minutes before lowering down the temperature of the oven to 160C and bake it for additional 10-15 minutes.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

HOw long should it take to double in size? Thanks for posting!

aishahias said...

Well, normally it would take about an hour or so. But it depends on the temperature actually. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi...did you use rapid rise yeast? This is similar to Mark Bittman's no-knead bread...which is lovely..just like yours..thank you!

aishahias said...

yes i did. oh really? i'll try to find his recipe then. :)

Anonymous said...

hello. Can you use whole wheat flour?

aishahias said...

hello there. sure you can. sometimes i would use half whole wheat and half bread flour or plain flour. :)

Anonymous said...

can you tell me how many cups of flour and water you used? I am not familiar with your measurements :-) Kristina

aishahias said...

Well, I normally weigh them out instead of using cups, so I'm not very sure. I think the flour should be almost 4 cups. But to be sure, you can try using this chart. Good luck! :)

Anonymous said...

This bread is Fabulous!
I've started making it whenever I'm making soup and the family just loves it.
It's really nice if you brush the top with some garlic infused olive oil and sprinkle with fresh rosemary and sea salt flakes.
Thanks for the share :)

Unknown said...

Very Good²! Best fast bread receipt. doubled and made 6 loafs. great for dipping slices into a shallow bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 2 loafs are gone already and they have not totally cooled off yet!!!

Thanks!