Nice!
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Hereās mine, all-white flour but next time Iāll definitely mix in some wholemeal. Baked in the clay cloche - a Dutch oven would probably have contained the loaf better and the air distribution would have been more even?
I really like the starter made on pineapple juice - so lively!
And the recipe is here.
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Interesting ā our crusts are very different in color. I wonder if itās the different cooking vessels?
I use a 9 qt Dutch oven and parchment paper. I also throw a cookie sheet under the Dutch oven for the last 10 min.
My cooking time is:
20 min at 500
10 min at 450
Cookie sheet under and lid off for 10 more min at 450
Yours is indeed much darker and looks more crusty. But is your picture of the all-white version? Otherwise it could be the flour.
That was my all white one. The partial wheat one didnāt look too different though.
Hi Eric,
Thank you for all the work youāve put into this site. I made my first loaf of No-Knead Sourdough bread and I have some questions. My starter worked out great. I used your recipe using pineapple and it was bubbly and vital. I stirred it down before using it. I used 4 oz whole wheat flour and 12 oz bread flour, added 1/4 cup starter, and let it rise overnight, covered with plastic wrap, for 12 hours. I wonder if I should have let it rise longer. It proofed in a linen lined Banneton (sp?) and baked in my Le Creuset Dutch oven. The taste is great, tangy and delicious. I think it has nice big air pockets in it. It didnāt rise as I had hoped, as you can see from my pictures. Any idea why? Many thanks!
I made my second loaf today. My starter seemed very active. I followed your no-knead sourdough directions precisely, 12 hours risen in the bowl, patted out on my board, 15 min rest, 1 1/2 hour rise in the Banneton, baked for 30 min in a clay baker at 500, removed cover and temp changed to 450, baked for another 15 minutes. The inside temp registered 205 but once again, it didnāt rise enough. What do you think Iām doing wrong? It is a whole wheat, white bread flour combo in the proportions you suggest. Water is distilled. Is that a problem? It looks great but again, it has not risen enough. When it hadnāt risen to the top of the basket in my 1 1/2 rising, I thought about letting it rise longer but I didnāt. Should I have? Thank you for help.
Hi Joy,
Yes, your bread does look great. I wouldnāt say youāre doing anything wrong. Judging from the excellent open crumb structure, I think it did rise well, it may just have not risen upward the way you hoped it would? Thatās more about the nature of no knead bread and the vessel youāre baking it in.
It looks like youāre baking in a 99111 Romertopf which is pretty roomy. No knead bread, being as wet as it is, will tend to conform to the shape of whatever vessel youāre using. So your loaf seems to be spreading both out and up. I guess you could try scaling up the recipe to make it bigger and that might force a more upward rise in the Romertopf. Or you could try a smaller Dutch oven. If you happen to have a 4 quart size, youāll likely get a higher loaf if the amount of dough is sufficiently large.
A lot of people use our oblong la cloche for wet dough recipes because the narrower width forces a lot of rise.
Hello Joyā¦We had the same results as you after trying the recipe (exact) in the new clay baker and then in a Le Creuset dutch oven. We thought initially that the reduced oven temp required for the clay baker was the issue but the exact same thing happened in the dutch oven with higher oven temp.
Gave it one more try in a smaller oval Le Cruset (8" x 10") and it was perfecto for 3 different versions of No knead sourdough. We also reduced the 1st and 2nd rise per Ericās instructions and checked with a 2 finger poke for oven readiness. The 2 finger poke often shows us that we need an additional 1/2 hour or so of rise. It is a wonderful method.
The results have been extraordinary on each and every loaf.
The issues and confusion with starter amounts largely stem from (or appear to, from my reading of several forums) whether one maintains a starter by weight or by volume.
If I confine myself strictly to bakerās measurement (weight), then 5 oz of flour and 5 oz of water in a starter are going to yield a rather thick (100%, equal amounts by weight of flour and water) starter. Those of us (me, for example) who find a starter-by-volume easier to handle and maintain mix a cup of flour (5 oz) to a cup of water (8 oz), thereby ending up with, in bakerās terms, a 166% starter.
Therefore, if I encounter a recipe thatās using a 100% starter, I just deduct 3 oz from the water amount given in the recipe if Iām using a cup of my 166% starter.
Thanks Peg for this suggestion. Iām preparing a loaf now and I just read your post. I wish that I had the 3 qt Le Creuset. I do have the 2 qt round but Iām not sure if it is too small. Iād love to try it. If only they werenāt so pricey, Iād buy the 3 qt!
Thank you so much. I used my 2 quart Le Creuset and the bread turned out great! I love that it is higher and doesnāt have the opportunity to spread as much. Such a simple solution but Iām not so sure that I would have figured it out on my own!
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I found my LeCrueset 3 qt oval orange pot at Marshalls and I paid $22.00 for it.
Your bread looks absolutely gorgeous! It also looks as if the 2 qt size is perfect! Our fav is the cranberry pecan sourdough but did make the olive parmesan for company. It was a bit too rich for everyday. Have not made the plain one in a while but like that also.
Have all the ingredients to do a seeded spelt with walnuts and raisins this week. Had I read the recipe I think I would not have gone ahead with the purchases. It appears to be a bit less forgiving than what you and I are doing.
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Hereās a first effort; not bad, considering. My starter is pretty ancient, itās that Oregon Trail 1847 thing available on the web. I think the baking temps / times may be a bit much for my oven, I may cut back a bit next time. I really enjoy the way a dutch oven delivers that killer crust!
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$22.00 Wow!!! Someone made a wonderful mistake when pricing that. I made the Cranberry Pecan but I missed the unobstructed dough. Usually, I love the crunchiness of nuts but I think I like the plain bread better. I am thinking of try some minced Rosemary in some. That sounds so good to me. Even Rosemary Calamata may be good. How did the Seeded Spelt come out? Such fun!
Looks yummy! Yes, I too love that crunchy crust!
OK! I just have to say that this is the best recipe I have found for working with a Sourdough starter. The portions of starter, water, flour, and salt are spot on. I have tried many recipes and this is the most foolproof version by far.
Thank you for this website and itās helpful techniques.
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Hi, thanks so much for sharing this great, easy to follow, recipe with all of us. Iām new at sourdough baking, but have had great success once I found this recipe. Other recipes were confusing and very science-like (yes, Iām talking about the grams). So hereās the latest 2 loaves that I baked over the weekend. Itās this same recipe, but added seeds (flax, sunflower and black sesame). Itās so very delicious.
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This is the third try, and Iām finally happy with the results. Before, I was exceeding the initial overnight rise time, and the dough didnāt have enough left in it to proof properly before baking. This time I altered my schedule so as not to exceed 14 hours.
Nice adjustment!