No Knead Bread Utter Failure || Tips?

Fidel

I followed the recipe and technique exactly. The dough looked great and the egg was steady at 475* so I was excited and ready to finally try this bread.

Setup was as follows: pizza stone on spider, then plate setter, then mini grid as a spacer, then Le Creuset 6.5 qt oval dutch oven. Stabilized everything at 475 and the DO was pre-heated for 30 minutes.

I did the "plop" and the dough settled in. I put the lid on the DO, shut the dome and walked away. At 30 minutes I pulled the lid and noticed there was no "oven spring" - the dough did not spread or rise any more at all. The loaf did look pretty good, so I left the lid off, shut the dome, and let it go again. At this stage it was supposed to go 20 more minutes. After about 8 however I smelled the bread burning and looked through the top of the dome. The top was nicely browned but the edges were burnt a tad so I pulled it. Dumped it on the cooling rack and the bottom of the loaf was burnt - bad, very bad. Not kinda overdone, but pitch black, charred, and nasty.

I know a lot of you have done this no knead before, but this was the worst failure I have had in baking. I did tear a hunk off the top and the crust was fantastic and the bread was tasty with a nice texture.

My question is why did it burn in 12 minutes less than the recipe time? Any ideas (and yes, my dome thermo is calibrated - I even used 2 dome thermos to make sure the temp was spot on before I started).

TRex, egret, AZRP, any of you other master bakers got a sense of where I screwed this pooch?

Cecil

Did you have cooking spray, oil, butter anything that could scortch. I will be curious to hear what others say. It has always turned out well for me. Was 475 recomended temp? I don't remember it being that high.


Walt

Fidel

I didn't add anything that would scorch - and this was more than just a little scorching.

I used This Recipe and it states 475 -- this is the same recipe that others have posted with success.

I'm more than a little baffled.

BENTE

ok when i have done it i have always used broc's recepie (i will put it at the bottom) and i have over browned a bottom or two but last time i just took 5 min off the end and it turned out better


and i have always had my setup as follows
platesetter legs up
grid
dutch oven

his recepie calls for 450


i still have this recepie in my original format because i like the way this looks instead of the living cookbook version

OK -- Here goes! This is a no-knead recipe. Very little "hands-on" time... maybe a total of ten minutes handling ingredients.

Simply dump into a bowl and quickly mix together
> 3 Cups all purpose flour
> 1/2 tsp yeast
> 1-1/2 tsp salt [I use sea salt]

Then just dump in 1-1/2 cups of good tasting water
> In about 20 - 30 seconds, just squish the water into the flour... don't worry about "under mixing." It will hydrate on its own.

Cover with plastic, and let sit on the counter 12+ hours.
< The longer it sits, the more taste it will develop

The next day ---

Flop the gooey mess onto a well floured countertop.
>It will be really sticky, and will seem like it is too wet. It isn't!
>Use flour liberally on your hands, and "powder" the dough as needed so you don't end up wearing it!

Tri-fold the mess as best you can just twice!
< Work the dough a bit with your fingers to de-gas the biggest bubbles. Unlike traditional bread making, don't overwork this section. You can do this in maybe 15 seconds at the most.
< Leave some gas bubbles in the dough.

As best you can with the gooey mess, keep your hands well floured, roll into a ball and place the dough into a lightly oiled [EVOO] bowl.

Cover with a towel, and walk away!
< To this point, your total contact time with ingredients is maybe a minute, include measuring the flour, yada-yada.
< Just walk away, Jose! -- For two hours.

Preheat your oven [Egg] to 450F, with the empty clay covered bread baker inside. I separate the body from the cover.

Turn the dough out on the counter again, gently de-gassing.
< Tri-fold twice!
< Then shape the dough into an appropriately long "log."
< Again, this is a fast-'n-furious step, taking less than a minute.
< When the "log" is formed, let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Quickly, toss the "log" into the clay baker, cover the baker with its clay top and put the baker into your Egg/oven for 30 min @ 450F
< The extremely wet dough [superhydrated] will steam -- but the steam can't escape the clay baker easily... this is what makes that crispy, yummy crust on the bread!
< BTW -- The bread will not stick to the baking pot. < Don't grease the baker, or anything. Just use it.

After 30 minutes, take the lid off the cooker, and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.

Voila! The deed is done!
< Remove the baker from the Egg/oven
< Turn your Italian loaf out on to a rack to cool at least 30 min. before slicing. The inside of a loaf of any bread needs this rest time before slicing, or the inside of the bread can turn out "gummy."

Enjoy the best Italian bread you've ever had.

DISCLAIMER: Do not subject the clay baker to direct heat, nor to temps above 450F. In the Egg, have a spacer between the plate setter and the baker. In a kitchen over, set the clay baker on the middle rack.

Source BGE Forum
Posted by Broc just across………………………………………………………………………………………………………
1-17-08



HTH if not call me

Fidel

Sounds very similar to what I did except for the temps. I wonder how 25* made that big a difference, and like I said, I pulled it way earlier than the recipe called for.

BENTE

i am not sure was your do below the felt line?

because everytime i have done it the do was at felt level :blink:

egret

Rod,
I've never done this bread before.....mine is always the "knead" type!
The recipe for this bread that I have saved uses 450 degrees. The only thing that catches my eye is your setup. If you were doing a loaf like this in your oven where you are expecting a pretty good rise, you would want to put it on a central rack so it would brown evenly. To duplicate this on the egg, I use plate setter (legs up), ceramic feet on PS and pizza stone on ceramic feet. With the sourdough bread, I'll sometimes use a second set of feet and a second pizza stone if the bottom is showing a tendency to burn. Your setup would have had a better chance of success if you had created a bigger air space between the PS and DO. My guess is that's where your problem was, but as I said, I've never baked bread in a DO.

Unknown

i know nothing of no knead. but as i read this, the bread is in contact with a hunk of enameled steel @ 475° for 50 minutes??? i cannot think of anything that would not burn!! maybe pyrex would work different as it does not hold so much heat.. good luck and hope you get an answer or figure it out... my lucky day
le creuset was on sale today at wegmans and i passed, as i spent this seasons 'play budget' on sharpening stones
good luck
bill

Dimple's Mom

The orig NY times recipe says to bake it at 450. After you take the lid off (at 30 mins), then bake it 15-30 mins more.

I make this all the time in my oven and on the egg. (Mostly in the oven) I never have any problem with it burning in the oven. Sometimes it takes longer to bake than others. I use the thermapen and pull it at 210 degrees.

when I make it on the egg, I often have problems with the bottom burning. I pull it as soon as it starts to burn.

Depending on how much flour is on the loaf, you can usually just scrape off the burned bottom. Or cut it off. The rest of the bread is normally delicious.

Cecil

As am I.

Walt

Stanley

I have yet to try NKB on the Egg, but I do it in the oven regularly. I've taken to placing several (maybe 6) circles of parchment in the bottom of the DO before the dough goes in and I get less "overdoing" of the bottom.

Fidel

I tend to agree with you John, but I had two layers of baffle - the pizza stone above the lump, then the plate setter above that, then the DO on a grid spacer on top of the plate setter.

My thoughts are to use more space and to lower the temps.

Thanks for the input.

Fidel

Many do this recipe with great success. I just fumbled for some reason.

Hot Stuff

i've never tried bread on the egg, but have baked a lot of pizza on unglazed quarry tile and it will start to burn in 10 minutes at 500 degrees....i think the problem is the cast iron....the other recipe submitted said to use a clay bread baker....if you have a small wire rack of some sort that will fit in the dutch oven that will keep the bread from coming in contact with the bottom of the do it should allow you some more time before it starts to burn...hope this helps.

Dimple's Mom

You are probably right about the cast iron.

When I first started doing this, the only thing I had with a lid was a corningware thing with a glass lid. I used it on the egg once and the egg started to blacken it. So I bought a black le creuset pot with a lid and now I use that both inside and on the egg. I have never tried the no knead bread with cast iron.

emilluca

I used the no knead recipe from the NYtimes before the egg and NEVER did I let it back in the oven to brown the full time it said. I would take the lid off at the first recommended time and took the temp. of the bread. Bread needs to be 200 internal. I allowed it to brown based on the temp. It varied from zero time to no moire then 8 min. The texture and taste happens during the first cook the second is just for the eye candy of a perfect browned loaf.
E

Mickey

when you say "leave inside" as Preheat your oven [Egg] to 450F, with the empty clay covered bread baker inside. I separate the body from the cover.
sorry to be simple, this is inside the kitchen (correct?). also nothing about soaking the baker?
thanks for the help

BENTE

discard the baker idea i guess i should change that portion.. i just put my egg at 450 and place the dutch oven in there to preheat. after it preheats i just throw the dough in... sorry for the confusion i will chenge it now

Mickey

one more question, do you put a top on the DO?

BENTE

changed a few minor points here is the rewrite for those of us who do not have a clay "day baker"

OK -- Here goes! This is a no-knead recipe. Very little "hands-on" time... maybe a total of ten minutes handling ingredients.

Simply dump into a bowl and quickly mix together
> 3 Cups all purpose flour
> 1/2 tsp yeast
> 1-1/2 tsp salt [I use sea salt]

Then just dump in 1-1/2 cups of good tasting water
> In about 20 - 30 seconds, just squish the water into the flour... don't worry about "under mixing." It will hydrate on its own.

Cover with plastic, and let sit on the counter 12+ hours.
< The longer it sits, the more taste it will develop

The next day ---

Flop the gooey mess onto a well floured countertop.
>It will be really sticky, and will seem like it is too wet. It isn't!
>Use flour liberally on your hands, and "powder" the dough as needed so you don't end up wearing it!

Tri-fold the mess as best you can just twice!
< Work the dough a bit with your fingers to de-gas the biggest bubbles. Unlike traditional bread making, don't overwork this section. You can do this in maybe 15 seconds at the most.
< Leave some gas bubbles in the dough.

As best you can with the gooey mess, keep your hands well floured, roll into a ball and place the dough into a lightly oiled [EVOO] bowl.

Cover with a towel, and walk away!
< To this point, your total contact time with ingredients is maybe a minute, include measuring the flour, yada-yada.
< Just walk away, Jose! -- For two hours.

Preheat your oven [Egg] to 450F, with the dutch oven in there.

Turn the dough out on the counter again, gently de-gassing.
< Tri-fold twice!
< Then shape the dough into an appropriately long "log."
< Again, this is a fast-'n-furious step, taking less than a minute.
< When the "log" is formed, let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Quickly, toss the "log" into the dutch oven and put into your Egg/oven for 30 min @ 450F
< The extremely wet dough [superhydrated] will steam -- but the steam can't escape the dutch oven easily... this is what makes that crispy, yummy crust on the bread!
< BTW -- The bread will not stick to the dutch oven. < Don't grease the baker, or anything. Just use it.

After 30 minutes, take the lid off the dutch oven, and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.

Voila! The deed is done!
< Remove the dutch oven from the Egg/oven
< Turn your Italian loaf out on to a rack to cool at least 30 min. before slicing. The inside of a loaf of any bread needs this rest time before slicing, or the inside of the bread can turn out "gummy."

Enjoy the best Italian bread you've ever had.



Source BGE Forum
Posted by Broc just across………………………………………………………………………………………………………
1-17-08

BENTE

for the first 30 min....