Originally published at: http://breadtopia.com/its-bread-baking-season/
Mark Liptak, who has graciously shared with us on prior occasions, sent in an email the other day appropriately titled “Back At It”. “It” being bread baking, of course. Mark’s got some great tips for handling his no knead bread dough with some excellent photos. Good stuff! In his words… Now that we’re back into…
Mark, today I baked my very first EVER loaf of no-knead bread. I was skeptical that I’d be able to invert my proofed loaf into the cloche without dropping it or otherwise ruining it. Then I saw your post on using parchment paper to help transfer the dough smoothly. Your technique worked PERFECTLY for me! First time was the charm and thanks to you I know I can safely maneuver my dough into the cloche and have it bake properly with great results. Many, many thanks! Sincerely, Leah
Newby Sour Dough Baker - 4th loaf. Using current kitchen tools/items available. Read about parchment paper whilst researching & having no suitable lined proofing dish I now use it in the final proofing in a pyrex dish as I was struggling transferring the wet dough. The parchment is a great improvement but the end loaf does have the fold markings from the parchment paper. I am baking in a small cast iron double pan, the lid is not too secure and somewhat dangerous!
I used to use a floured tea towel in a colander. The colander has more air flow than a bowl and acted a bit more like a banneton. If your dough is very wet, then stick with parchment. You can crush the parchment in your hands and then smooth it out – that will keep deep folds from digging into your dough.
Hi there. I now have the large Breadtopia clay baker, which makes a tall oval loaf. I’ve found that I can easily fit a dough made with 6 cups of flour, doubling the basic no knead recipe on the website but using a variety of flours, to create super nice sandwich sized slices. I do the final proof on lightly floured parchment and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap. Once proofed I will sprinkle on some toppings, score the top, and use the parchment to place the dough directly in the pre heated baker. It works very well and there is no need to flip the proofed loaf. It is advisable to crinkle up the paper before the proofing begins. Super yummy success ensues! 
1 Like