With the COVID-19 virus still rampant in the US, people are reluctant to leave the house. All the more reason to create your own loaves of bread. This morning I started a batch of no-knead-fold bread using methods espoused by many, but especially following the guidance of Jeffery Hamelman. I’ve been following him for years, and have a number of his books. (Maybe all of them. FYI: New book coming soon). As a matter of full disclosure, he is a friend of my sister’s husband. (But I knew him first – through his books! Ha!)
I started the batch around 0530. I used a KitchenAid mixer to incorporate all the ingredients to reduce the stress on my increasingly arthritic joints. But it could certainly be done by hand. OK. I had the mixer. So, I used it.
I don’t know why more people, even bakers that are trying to explain measurements, don’t use the baker’s percentage method. Yes. It’s math. But not all that difficult. I’ve explained it somewhere else in this blog, but you can find it elsewhere… like on YouTube. Of course.
In my formulation, I used 73% hydration and 2.2% salt. I might go with 2% next time. The amount of yeast I use is so very small, like a dusting. I use the Instant Yeast variety, so often billed as Bread Machine Yeast. I usually just sprinkle a few grain on top of the flour until it looks like dirty snow… It’s not very precise, but it works for me. In my own defense, of all the books I’ve read on how much yeast to use, it varies by orders of magnitude.
So, after a half dozen folds at half-hour increments, more or less, I was ready to divide. Less than an hour later, shape. About two hours later, after a nap, I placed them into a steamed 480° F oven, reduced to 460° after 5 minutes. Baked for 38 minutes.
Great results! (Jeffrey, be gentle… Feedback welcome.)
Try it!
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