no knead – Cook and Drink

Your Favourites in 2022

29 December 2022

We have been baking our own bread for several years, based on the method of no-knead bread (see Jim Lahey’s book My Bread for more detail) and using the ingredients of the French Talmière. The technique is a bit challenging, so we were very pleased to test the simplified method described by Le Creuset. You were also pleased to learn about this easier method for No-Knead Bread, because it’s our number one post this year!

Kimizu is the classic, golden sauce from Japan, made from Egg Yolks, Rice Vinegar, Water and Mirin. The recipes for Kimizu and Kimizu with Tarragon continue to be very popular. Although this is a classic sauce, we use a microwave to prepare it. A great tool to be in control of temperature and consistency.

If you’ve been following this blog for a few months, perhaps years, then you’ll know we love mushrooms. We are especially interested in the seasonal ones, such as Morels, St. George’s mushroom, and Caesar’s Mushroom. We combine these with Japanese Udon, creating a very tasty starter, full of flavours and texture. Also one of our personal favourites.
Another favorite is the Bay Bolete. Actually a fairly common mushroom, as tasty as Cèpes, but much more affordable.
During the season we saw lots of interests in Bay Boletes and Caeser’s Mushroom, so next season we will publish new recipes with these two delicious mushrooms.

The classic Cèpes à la Bordelaise was also amongst your favourites. You can also use more available mushrooms for this great combination. Always a pleasure to serve, with eggs, with meat, with more present fish.

Ajerkoniak was a dish we looked into when we were exploring dishes/drinks based on egg yolks, such as caudle, eggnog and advocaat. Perhaps not our personal favourite, but why nog give it a try?

We wish you a happy and inspiring 2023!

No-Knead Bread – Easier Method

12 December 2022

Recently Le Creuset introduced a Cast Iron Bread Oven. A great way to make bread at home. The oven is well designed, making it easy to transfer the dough to the pan. It has a domed lid, ergonomic handles and looks amazing. Typical Le Creuset quality.

On their website you’ll find several recipes, including one for sesame bread. It is made with 600 grams of wheat flour, 14 grams of salt (wow!) and 400 grams of water. The recipe is based on slow-rise fermentation. With only 1 gram of yeast in combination with 19+3 hours of rest, the yeast does a wonderful job. And kneading, as you would expect, is not required.

Le Creuset’s approach is slightly different from Jim Lahey’s, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, New York, promotor of no-knead bread since 2006 and author of the excellent book My Bread.
After the first rise, Jim Lahey folds the dough four times, dusts it with flour and bran, transfers it to a cloth for 3 hours before transferring it to a hot pan, a step that requires some practice and skills.
Le Creuset folds the dough twice and then transfers it to a cold pan. Wait for 3 hours and then transfer the cold pan to the oven. This approach is clearly quicker and easier.
And the result? A beautiful, tasty bread with a crispy crust.

What You Need

430 gram of Flour (we use 200 gram of Whole Grain Flour and 230 gram of All Purpose Flour)
25 grams Blue Poppy Seed
30 grams Brown Linseed
1 gram of Instant Yeast
4 grams of Salt
355 grams of Water
Additional Flower
Bran

What You Do

We use a 20cm Le Creuset Casserole with a heat resistant knob. Make sure the pan is well coated. If not, coat with oil and kitchen paper before using.
Mix flour, yeast, seeds and salt. Add water and create one mixture. Let rest in a covered bowl for 19 hours. Dust your kitchen worktop with flour, remove the dough from the bowl, fold 4 times, dust the pan with a touch of flour and bran, transfer the dough to the pan, sprinkle some bran on the top of the dough and close the lid. Let rest in the pan for 3 hours. Heat your oven to 235˚ Celsius or 450˚ Fahrenheit. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until it is nicely browned. Remove the bread from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing it.

No-Knead Bread

11 April 2022

Two or three times per week we enjoy the taste of fresh home-made bread. The crust, the flavours, the aromas! And how about the singing of the bread when it’s just out of the oven? Baking your own bread is such a pleasure.

Our recipe is based on a recipe published by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, New York. It was published in the New York Times in 2006 and can also be found in his excellent book My Bread. The process is time consuming (it’s 24 hours from start to finish) but not labour intensive. It’s simple and straightforward with a great result. We truly love it.

The recipe is based on slow-rise fermentation. With only 1 gram of instant yeast in combination with 19+3 hours of rest the yeast will do a wonderful job. The dough will be perfect. And kneading, as you would expect, is not required.

Origin

In 1764 Elizabeth Moxon describes a no kneading bread recipe as shown in this nice instructive video.
Her recipe: To half a peck of flour, put a full jill of new yeast, and a little salt, make it with new milk (warmer than from the cow) first put the flour and barm together, then pour in the milk, make it a little stiffer than a seed-cake, dust it and your hands well with flour, pull it in little pieces, and mould it with flour very quick; put it in the dishes, and cover them with a warm cloth (if the weather requires it) and let them rise till they are half up, then set them in the oven, (not in the dishes, but turn them with tops down upon the peel;) when baked rasp them.
Interesting that she rasps the bread: she is not interested in the crust!

Jim Lahey

My Bread is such a wonderful book. The first chapters describe the background, the process and the basic recipe. In the next chapters you will find recipes for special bread, such as Fresh Corn Bread and Banana Leaf Rolls plus inspired recipes for Pizza Fungi and Focaccia.

My Bread is available via your local bookshop and the usual channels for something between 20 and 30 euro or US dollar.

What You Need

200 grams of Whole Grain Flour
230 grams of Plain White Flour
1 gram Instant Yeast
25 grams Blue Poppy Seed
30 grams Brown Linseed
4 grams Salt (this is less than usual, most recipes for bread would say 8 gram)
350 grams Water
Additional Flower
Bran

What You Do

Simplest is to buy My Bread or look at the recipe and movie as provided by the New York Times.

Mix flour, yeast, seeds and salt. Add water and create one mixture. Let rest in a covered bowl for 19 hours. Remove from bowl, fold 4 times, dust with additional flour and let rest on a towel dusted with flour and bran for 3 hours. Check that the pot (and the handles!) can be used in a really hot oven. Transfer the pot to the oven and heat your oven to 235˚ Celsius or 450˚ Fahrenheit. Put the dough, seam side up, in the pot, close it and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes or until it is nicely browned. Let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing it. Listen to your bread signing!

No-Knead Bread – UPDATE

25 September 2019

Slow Rise Fermentation

A few months ago we shared a recipe of no-knead bread, based on the recipe courtesy of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, New York. It was published in the New York Times in 2006 and can also be found in his book My Bread. It takes a bit of planning but preparing no-knead bread is simple and straightforward with a great result. We truly love it.
The recipe is based on slow rise fermentation. With only one gram of yeast in combination with 18+2 hours of rest, the yeast will do a wonderful job. The dough will be perfect. And kneading, as you would expect, is not required.

UPDATE – Talmière

Recently when enjoying the luxury of having a classic French bakery around the corner of our holiday apartment, we explored a range of beautiful French bread. One of these was the Talmière. It is enriched with various seeds, such as poppy seed, linseed, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Sometimes honey is added. The Talmière came with a beautiful crust and a rich taste. The bread is a bit compact compared to the usual Baguette or Tradition, probably as a result of the seeds in the dough.
We combined our ingredients with blue poppy seed and brown linseed.
Our best bread ever?

What You Need

400 gram of Flour (we use 200 gram of Whole Grain Flour, 100 gram of Plain White Flour and 100 gram of French T65 Flour, but you will also have a great result when using 200 gram of Whole Grain Flour and 200 gram of Plain White Flour)
25 gram Blue Poppy Seed
25 gram Brown Linseed
1 gram Instant Yeast
4 gram Salt
310 gram Water
Additional Flower
Bran

What You Do

The easiest way is to read and follow the recipe and video as provided by the New York Times.
Or if you feel confident: mix flour, seeds, yeast and salt. Add water and create one mixture. Let rest in a bowl covered with foil for 18 hours. Dust your worktop with a generous amount of additional flour. Remove dough from bowl and fold 4 times. Let rest on a towel also generously dusted with flour and bran for 2 hours. Heat your oven to 230˚ Celsius or 450˚ Fahrenheit. Make sure the pot is also hot. We used a 20 cm Le Creuset Cast Iron Round Casserole. Put the dough, seam side up, in the pot, close it and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes until it is nicely browned. Let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing you no-knead with blue poppy seeds and brown linseed.