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We’ve come across a number of bread making recipes using our favorite slow cooking/braising tool – the Dutch oven – and decided to venture into a realm that has been nearly abandoned because of our gluten-free diets. But there is nothing more wonderful than the smell that fills the kitchen of the dough, then the baking. And if eating great bread is a bit of a splurge, then we’ll make some room in our diet for the homemade variety.
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The Martha Stewart show on PBS was the first time we paid attention to Dutch oven bread making – she had the brilliant Jim Lahey of New York City’s Sullivan Street Bakery showing his no knead method. Then we saw the Bon Appetit article entitled “BA’s Best Bread” which intrigued us even more (they use the French style kneading of Richard Bertinet – more on him later). Lastly, we re-visited a few websites that have a vested interest in selling Dutch ovens – such as Le Creuset; their technique for dough making is done solely in a standing mixer.
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For this exercise, we decided to keep it simple: rustic white bread. The question still remained over which method to use. We decided to compare the Jim Lahey no-knead method to a manually kneaded bread dough. Richard Bertinet has made a living by teaching the French slap and fold technique for kneading. He makes it look so simple, but it did take quite a few tries to get the method down. There are quite a few YouTube videos that show the method. Our two favorites were Richard Bertinet himself, and the other was from La Cocina de Babette, who spends a lot of time breaking down and explaining the technique.
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Simple Ingredients for Rustic Loaf
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We used exactly the same ingredients for each method:
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Vegetable oil or vegetable oil spray
- Olive oil
(Note: the Le Creuset recipe uses one more cup of flour. Also, the Martha Stewart recipe uses less yeast.)
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No-Knead Dough After 18 Hours
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No Knead Method
- In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Coat a second large bowl with olive oil. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, but preferably up to 18, in a room about 70 degrees in temperature. When surface is dotted with bubbles, dough is ready.
- Lightly flour work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle just enough flour over work surface and your fingers to keep dough from sticking; quickly and gently shape dough into a ball. Carefully place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper which will at least cover the sides of the Dutch over. Place the dough & parchment paper in a bowl, and cover the dough with a cotton towel moistened with warm water. Let rise until it has more than doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
- After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place a 6-quart Dutch oven into the oven as it heats. When dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and carefully place the bread in the center of the Dutch oven. Shake pot once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking until browned, 15 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
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Dough on Parchment Paper in Dutch Oven
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Dough Formed into Round Loaf
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Kneaded Dough (Slap and Fold Method)
- Mix the yeast, flour and salt; mix in the water, working the dough with a plastic scraper or spatula for 2–3 minutes, until the dough starts to form.
- Lift the dough onto your work surface. Even though the dough will feel quite soft and moist (and look like thick, sticky oatmeal) do not add any flour or oil to the work surface. Scrape the dough into as small a ball as possible.
- Begin to work the dough. The idea is to stretch it and get as much air into it as possible. The way to work it is to slide your fingers underneath it like a pair of forks, with your thumbs on top, swing it upwards then slap it back down, away from you, onto your work surface (the “slap and fold” technique – see the YouTube videos by either Richard Bertinet himself, or from La Cocina de Babette,. They do a better job of showing you how it’s done). Remember to use the tips of your fingers, not your whole hands. As you work the dough it will start to come together and feel alive and elastic in your hands. Keep on working it until it comes cleanly away from the work surface, begins to look silky and feels smooth, firm-but-wobbly and responsive.
- Lightly flour the work surface, place the smooth side of the dough on the flour and form the dough into a ball by folding each edge in turn into the center. Place the dough into a mixing bowl and cover with a cotton towel that has been moistened with warm water. Rest for at least 1 hour in a room temperature, draft-free place in your kitchen.
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and mold into a into a round loaf shape. To do this, first flatten the ball of dough a little with the heel of your hand. Fold one edge into the center and press down with the heel of your hand. Fold the other edge over into the center and press down again. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper which will at least cover the sides of the Dutch over. Place in a bowl, then cover the dough with a cotton towel moistened with warm water, and let rise until it has more than doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place a 6-quart Dutch oven into the oven as it heats. When dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and carefully place the bread in the center of the Dutch oven. Shake pot once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking until browned, 15 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
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No-Knead Versus Kneaded Bread
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The Verdict
We used all three techniques – no-knead, hand kneaded (the French technique), and machine kneaded. All loaves came out of the oven smelling oh-so-good, and had a professional type crusts.
The no-knead recipe took less prep time (about 20 minutes), and the same amount of cooking time as the kneaded breads, but did require over-night proofing. The by-hand kneaded bread could be done in one day, but requires a dedicated day – and the kneading process is a lot of work. The standing mixer kneading seemed to work just as well as the hand-kneaded method. If you start in the morning, you’ll have fresh bread by dinner.
The breads all tasted great – but the no-knead bread had a lighter feel, with more air pockets. It was the preferred bread by everyone at our test kitchen.
Overall, with slightly better results, and less overall muss and fuss, we preferred the no-knead method. If interested, the Martha Stewart website has some recipes for making whole grain versions, including this no-knead whole wheat bread.
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