need some no kneed bread insight...

[Javaman]

Hey all,
I have been making the NYT's no kneed bread recipe for years.

it's easy and quick, I haven't varied the recipe at all, but lately I have noticed something odd happening

it calls for 1 1/2 cups of warm water.

after it rises I have noticed that the dough is "soupy", as if there is too much water in it.

I'm thinking my next batch I'll only use 1 1/4 cups. but still it's odd that the "loose" dough is happening.

Any ideas?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. How does it bake up?

If it turns out good bread, I wouldn't mess with the flour.

[Kali]

2. humidity?

flour source different?

[CentralMass]

3. That is strange.

[people]

4. Look at comments to NYT no knead bread recipe

I would read the comments to this NYT recipe to see if anyone else has mentioned this type of problem and see how they dealt with it.

[yellerpup]

5. Yes, we encountered the same problem.

Kept cutting until it started coming back to normal texture. My hands are useless now, but Mr. Pup has become adept and he's been cutting back and cutting back on H2O a little at a time until it's perfect texture for kneading and dry enough not to have to absorb lots of flour during the process. The flavor still works whether the dough is soupy or not!

[sorcrow]

6. Do you weigh your ingredients?

Going by feel or appearance works great. If it seems thin, it probably is. Lose a little water and see what happens.

That being said, weigh your ingredients for a consistent starting point and add flour or water to get the dough just right.

If I recall correctly, the hydration ratio for the no knead bread is 70%. So for example, 500 g of flour with 350 g of water.

Happy baking,
Sorghum Crow

[Pobeka]

7. Flour hydration varies from year to year

I get 50lbs of flour at a time which lasts a year. I weigh my amounts, and every bag I have to re-assess how hydrated the flour is. I can see it vary by as much as 3%.


So, if your flour is has 3% more H2O than expected, then you'd have to cut back on the amount of water you add. And yes, a 3% change can make no knead bread dough go from just right to soupy.

[Warpy]

8. No knead bread is not quick bread

You need ample time to allow the yeast to work its magic and also for the flour to absorb all the water. Even then, I always found I needed flour at the end to be able to shape the dough into something that would fit the pot.

If you want a quicker bread in time for supper, consider Irish soda bread. The only manipulation it requires is shaping it and plopping it onto a cookie sheet for baking. It also makes wonderful toast the next day or two. I keep powdered buttermilk on hand, it keeps forever in the fridge and works just fine.

Most online recipes are ridiculously overcomplicated. Mine was flour, buttermilk, baking soda, salt. https://www.recipetineats.com/no-yeast-bread-irish-soda-bread/ gives one that is close to mine. I added dried currants and caraway to make it fancier, but it is equally good eaten plain. Note that you don't need to put in whole wheat flour, it will be much lighter if you don't.

You mix, turn out onto a cutting board with the bowl inverted on top, let it rest for at least half an hour, then shape and bake. I usually put some cornmeal on the baking sheet, it gives a little crunch and a nice extra flavor boost. Don't forget to slice an "X" into the top, Irish bakers will tell you it's to let the fairies out, but it's really for a little extra oven spring.