/ck/ - Food & Cooking

btw i like it yeasty and also my bread is always too dense

>>10402767
bittman's no knead bread is fine but what you really want to do is a long slow bulk ferment.

500g bread flour
390g water
11g sea salt
.5g yeast

Mix flour and water, let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Sprinkle on salt and yeast and incorporate using the pincher method. You’re supposed to fold the dough a few times before allowing it to rest for the bulk fermentation, but I was tipsy and tired so I only folded it once after 20 minutes before covering it and letting it rise.

Let rise for 12-14 hours until slightly more than doubled.

Generously flour a banneton basket (or lightly grease a large bowl).

Gently scrape dough onto a well-floured surface. Stretch dough and fold over in quarters until a semi-tight ball forms. Place in banneton/bowl, seam-side down.

Let rise an additional 1-1.5 hours until doubled — but after the first 30 minutes of this final proofing, place a dutch oven w/lid in oven and preheat to 450F.

CAREFULLY flip dough out of banneton/bowl and place dough into preheated dutch oven. The side of the dough that was against the bowl/banneton should now be on top. Score dough, if desired, and cover.

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid and bake for an additional 15-25 minutes, depending on how dark you like it. I baked this one for 15 minutes with the lid off.

>>10403150
this is a halved recipe from ken forkish's "flour water salt yeast" which i HIGHLY recommend

>>10403158
also, try using a pre-ferment! here's a halved biga recipe from FWSY:

For the biga (pre-ferment):
400g unbleached white bread flour
272g room temp water
a pinch of yeast (literally a pinch, a minuscule amount.)

Mix all these together, cover, let rest at room temp for 12-14 hours until tripled in volume.

Final dough:
100g unbleached white bread flour
103g slightly more than lukewarm water
11g salt
1g (¼ tsp) yeast

Mix the final dough ingredients together, then add all of the biga. Incorporate using the pinch and fold method, cover and let rise 2.5-3 hours, folding 2-3 times during the first 1.5 hours.

Shape and let proof in a floured brotform (or line a bowl with a tightly-woven kitchen towel and flour the heck out of it) for 1 hour or until it passes the “poke test”, making sure to preheat a dutch oven to 450F after 20-30 minutes. Bake covered for 30 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 15-30 minutes depending on how dark you like it (I baked this one for 20 min uncovered.)

>>10403165
>>10403150
thank you

>>10403179
you're doing it right using a dutch oven to bake it in. make sure your oven temp is accurate, and if your bread starts burning on the bottom just put a cookie sheet upside down on the rack lower than the one your dutch oven is on.

it's definitely worth using good quality flour (spring for King Arthur's bread flour instead of AP flour), and let your flour and water sit for at least 30 min after mixing before you add the salt and yeast.

>>10403179
also: re density -- google or YT search "stretch and fold method." i'm pretty sure ken forkish has an easy demonstration. the stretch and folds strengthen the gluten and build structure into the bread, which will give it a much better rise and lighter crumb. it's definitely easier than kneading, especially if you're mixing up your dough in the evening and have a few hours before you go to bed and let it rise overnight.

Switch from commercial yeast to sourdough
Add a multi day cold fermentation
Get some good salt, and use a little more
Don't get the cheap/bleached flour
???
Profit

>>10403435
yeah this anon is right -- sourdough with a long slow rise is much better.