December 6, 2006
The Minimalist
No Kneading, but Some Fine-Tuning
MARK BITTMAN
LAST month I wrote about Jim Lahey, the owner of Sullivan Street
Bakery on West 47th Street in Manhattan, and his clever way to
produce a European-style boule at home. Mr. Lahey's recipe calls for
very little yeast, a wet dough, long rising times and baking in a
closed, preheated pot. My results with Mr. Lahey's method have been
beyond satisfying.
Happily, so have those of most readers. In the last few weeks Jim
Lahey's recipe has been translated into German, baked in Togo,
discussed on more than 200 blogs and written about in other
newspapers. It has changed the lives (their words, not mine) of
veteran and novice bakers. It has also generated enough questions to
warrant further discussion here. The topics are more or less in the
order of the quantity of inquiries.
WEIGHT VS. VOLUME The original recipe contained volume measures, but
for those who prefer to useweight, here are the measurements: 430
grams of flour, 345 grams of water,1 gram of yeast and 8 grams of
salt. With experience, many people will stop measuring altogether and
add just enough water to make the dough almost too wet to handle.
SALT Many people, me included, felt Mr. Lahey's bread was not salty
enough. Yes, you can use more salt and it won't significantly affect
the rising time. I've settled at just under a tablespoon.
YEAST Instant yeast, called for in the recipe, is also called
rapid-rise yeast. But you can use whatever yeast you like. Active dry
yeast can be used without proofing (soaking it to make sure it's active).
TIMING About 18 hours is the preferred initial rising time. Some
readers have cut this to as little as eight hours and reported little
difference. I have not had much luck with shorter times, but I have
gone nearly 24 hours without a problem. Room temperature will affect
the rising time, and so will the temperature of the water you add (I
start with tepid). Like many other people, I'm eager to see what
effect warmer weather will have. But to those who have moved the
rising dough around the room trying to find the 70-degree F sweet
spot: please stop. Any normal room temperature is fine. Just wait
until you see bubbles and well-developed gluten - the long strands
that cling to the sides of the bowl when you tilt it - before proceeding.
THE SECOND RISE Mr. Lahey originally suggested one to two hours, but
two to three is more like it, in my experience. (Ambient temperatures
in the summer will probably knock this time down some.) Some readers
almost entirely skipped this rise, shaping the dough after the first
rise and letting it rest while the pot and oven preheat; this is
worth trying, of course.
OTHER FLOURS Up to 30 percent whole-grain flour works consistently
and well, and 50 percent whole-wheat is also excellent. At least one
reader used 100 percent whole-wheat and reported "great crust but
somewhat inferior crumb," which sounds promising. I've kept rye,
which is delicious but notoriously impossible to get to rise, to
about 20 percent. There is room to experiment.
FLAVORINGS The best time to add caraway seeds, chopped olives,
onions, cheese, walnuts, raisins or whatever other traditional bread
flavorings you like is after you've mixed the dough. But it's not the
only time; you can fold in ingredients before the second rising.
OTHER SHAPES Baguettes in fish steamers, rolls in muffin tins or
classic loaves in loaf pans: if you can imagine it, and stay roughly
within the pattern, it will work.
COVERING BETWEEN RISES A Silpat mat under the dough is a clever idea
(not mine). Plastic wrap can be used as a top layer in place of a second towel.
THE POT The size matters, but not much. I have settled on a smaller
pot than Mr. Lahey has, about three or four quarts. This produces a
higher loaf, which many people prefer - again, me included. I'm using
cast iron. Readers have reported success with just about every
available material. Note that the lid handles on Le Creuset pots can
only withstand temperatures up to 400 F. So avoid using them, or
remove the handle first.
BAKING You can increase the initial temperature to 500 F for more
rapid browning, but be careful; I scorched a loaf containing
whole-wheat flour by doing this. Yes, you can reduce the length of
time the pot is covered to 20 minutes from 30, and then increase the
time the loaf bakes uncovered. Most people have had a good experience
baking for an additional 30 minutes once the pot is uncovered.
As these answers demonstrate, almost everything about Mr. Lahey's
bread is flexible, within limits. As we experiment, we will have
failures. (Like the time I stopped adding flour because the phone
rang, and didn't realize it until 18 hours later. Even this, however,
was reparable). This method is going to have people experimenting,
and largely succeeding, until something better comes along. It may be
quite a while.