hot pot, no-knead...

Whatever you call it, I just call it delicious. I finally tried the famous no-knead bread from from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery. (Read more about the phenomenon on Slashfood) WOW! Despite my bumbling, it was soooo good - chewy, flavorful, crisp crust, best I ever made. Here's the glamour shot of the wonderful holey structure.

I reviewed numerous blog postings on this recipe before attempting it myself. Based on my reading, I made two modifications to the original recipe: reducing the water to 1 1/2 cups and reducing the cooking time to 20 mins lid on and 20 mins lid off. I checked the internal temp (215F is the desired temp) periodically during the last 15 minutes to make sure I didn't overcook it.

The most important tip I found was from Rose Levy Beranbaum, regarding the transfer of the dough to the hot pot. She shapes and proofs the dough on a silpat sheet so you can just hold the sheet over the hot pot and let it drop off into the pan. This made the transfer super easy. Here are links to her very useful postings on this no-knead bread:

- hot pot bread story in pictures
- baby hot pot bread alternative - part 1, part 2

I made one big mistake - wrong pot size. I foolishly used my oval Le Creuset pan, thinking that the dough would magically stretch out into an oval shape. Instead, the hot pot seared the dough immediately into the shape when it hit the pan, thus creating the weirdo shape you see below. Next time I'll search my camping gear for my trusty circular Lodge dutch oven to create a more suitable environment.

dough inadequately supported by oval pot

resulting weirdo shape