OT Bread Followup

December 6, 2006
The Minimalist
No Kneading, but Some Fine-Tuning
By 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 use weight, 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 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 degrees. So avoid using them, or remove
the handle first.

BAKING You can increase the initial temperature to 500 degrees 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.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company