Interesting NYTimes story by Harold McGee on bread, water, and kneading. I still don’t know why people fixate on the kneading part or “no-knead” bread. Kneading dough is part of the fun as far as I’m concerned.
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McGee does a pretty good job of demistifying the knead vs. no knead controversy, but if I were a neophite baker, his expainations would have completely baffled me. (68% hydration, what?) I think it’s simple to say, if you want a dense dough, use less water and knead it alot. (set a timer) if you want a moist airy loaf, use more water and knead less, actually, stirring or, rather, ‘folding’ the dough right in the bowl.
I, too, find it odd that people think kneading dough for 5 minutes is a chore. But perhaps it’s like the flourless chocolate cake, where it’s more interesting what isn’t done (or added) rather than what is..
My KA mixer did just a great job kneading the loaf of bread I made on Monday, that I almost felt bad that it didn’t need a few extra turns by hand. Maybe next time I’ll have to turn off the mixer a little early. Now if only I could do something to keep the KA from trying to walk off the counter…
Excellent article! I just got a digital kitchen scale for Christmas and it has been great for making bread (as well as for following Ruhlman’s other ratios). With these tips about moisture level and kneading, I should finally be able to produce a light, airy ciabatta. I kept thinking I needed to knead it more to bring out the gluten, but I was just making it more difficult for big bubbles to form in the dough.
Very interesting article. I agree with you about the pleasure of kneading, to me, bread also tactile. Knowing the ratio’s of flour water and yeast are an empowering start for putting together a decent batch of bread. I am a beginning (non professional) bread maker and once I understood what those ratio’s felt like by handling the dough and seeing it and smelling it, I am beginning to understand better how to manipulate it into a good loaf…and it all started with Jim Lahey’s no knead bread. That tiny little bit of yeast and all that time, turned out a good boule from what I now use as a preferment. There is still so much for me to learn and I love every new experiment!
The making of bread is a joy – it can require you to set aside the world and focus on one thing. It can even be the ultimate excuse to avoid social
encounters best avoided! “Sorry, making bread today – can’ t leave the house.”
Smells and feels wonderful. Bliss.
I like the no-knead method because I’m not making it for the pleasure of making it – I’m making it to get it on the table. With a toddler and a baby, I have just little bits of time here and there. The no-knead method allows me to get it done in that brief window. Maybe when they get older I will get into kneading, but for now, this is the only way I can manage homemade bread.
Harold McGee references Michel Suas at San Francisco Baking Institute and Peter Reinhart, neither of whom should be overlooked in the search for making “good” bread. A week long course at SFBI sets weekend bread makers on course to becoming home bread making masters, and professional bakers into leaders of their craft. Peter’s books are flat out wonderful. To learn baker’s percentages, weighing ingredients verses measuring them, and tracking temperatures and times are essential to quality and reproduction. Nice link…
I do love a spell of kneading, but I’m with Emily–sometimes you just need to get the dough made and then stash it in a corner before wiping someone’s nose or folding load 1,000,000 of laundry. It’s nice to know you have the option of not kneading. (For me, it isn’t kneading so much as cleaning up my counter afterward that seems to take more time than I’m willing to spend.) I was so pleased to see the McGee article, since information like this makes me feel more confident tinkering with my bread recipes.
i use the no-knead recipe not because i object to kneading, but because it makes great bread! i never had such awesome crusty bread before using that recipe. granted, it might simply be the act of cooking the dough in a pot with a lid that makes the difference, but why mess with what works?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djpiebob/3426952073/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djpiebob/3431736097
kneading=no holes in the bread. I want the holes…
I generally us a variant of the Sullivan Street Bakery no-knead version. I’ve gradually reduced the water to about 65%. The dough takes a 12-20 hour first rise, minimal kneading (about 15 “folds”), and a second rise of 2 hours. Kneading is both fast and fun, and it does seem to make a slight difference. But the revelation was to let the second rise do its thing on parchment paper, which then can be used as a sling to easily and gently transfer the dough into a hot dutch oven without deflating the dough. Parchment paper is one of the world’s great inventions.
Now I’m 24 hours into cultivating red-cabbage sourdough starter, so a sourdough loaf is next. (BTW Michael, that sourdough-starter post is no longer available, which is too bad.)