If “no-knead” makes you think only of the rustic white “pot” bread that appeared in the New York Times several years ago, you may be surprised that some no-knead breads don’t require a pot at all! My Cheese and Chiles bread (pic here, recipe below) is one the “kneadless,” breads in my Kneadlessly Simple book that requires no baking pot. And the best news–it comes out delightfully crusty. (It is a fab choice to serve with chili btw!)
Leit’es Culinaria Testers’ Choice (Jennifer Piercy) says about the recipe: “This bread was awesome! I haven’t always had the best luck with no-knead breads, but this one turned out great, with a good crust and crumb. Easy to make and easy to customize. Highly recommended.”
A number of other breads in my Kneadlessly Simple cookbook are also readied in loaf pans and come out looking like traditionally made sandwich-style loaves. But make no mistake–they are not made the “traditional” kneading way!
First, directions simply call for stirring all the dry ingredients, including the yeast, together in a big bowl. Next, cold water (yes, that’s right, ice cold!) is mixed in with a spoon just until a stirrable, but stiff dough forms. Then, the bowl just sits there over many hours, during which time the bubbling yeast actually kneads the dough very thoroughly. The next step is to stir down the dough, adding in the cheese or any other extras, called for. Finally, the dough gets turned out into the loaf pan until it rises again and is ready to bake.
The advantages of the Kneadlessly Simple method over the “traditional” approach:
> The dough gets mixed in and rises in a single bowl, greatly minimizing clean-up.
> All kneading is skipped, eliminating the usual effort and counter-top mess.
> The long, slow “self-kneading” process not only produces great texture but develops rich flavor normally only found in true artisan loaves.
> You don’t need to know how to knead, shape dough, or worry about “proofing” the yeast.
> You don’t need to stick around waiting for the rising to complete; while the dough “does its thing” for 12 to 18 hours, you can go off to bed, or to work, or to play.
> The long rising time is very flexible, allowing you to actually “hold” the dough for significant periods and fit it in when you’re available.
If you haven’t the expertise or the time to spend fiddling with dough all day, this method will probably seem like a godsend. I’ll admit, though, that if you actually prefer the old-fashioned way of setting aside a day and completing your bread straight through from start to finish, this may not really suit your style. Kneadlessly Simple breads take almost no effort or baking skill, but they do require a long, slow, unhurried rise. It’s the secret to their exceptionally good texture and taste.
In a survey conducted for Fleischmann’s yeast of their customers who had tried a sampling of my Kneadlessly Simple recipes, nearly 90 percent said they were “very satisfied,” or “satisfied,” and a whopping 97.9 percent said they would use the recipes again. So, while my kneadless method isn’t for everybody, it comes pretty close. BTW, the Cheddar & Chiles bread, below, was one the breads made by those surveyed. (Check out another of my kneadless loaf pan recipes from the book, an easy oat bread. Or see my Peasant Style Pot Bread that’s similar to the one that appeared in the New York Times.)
Instead of introducing this bread myself, I’m going to let a tester from the Leite’s Culinaria site do the talking for me. I’d be embarrassed to praise it so highly myself, but am perfectly happy to share other folks’ rave reviews!
Woo hoo! Glad it worked out so well. Yes, you can definitely make two smaller loaves–you'll just have to fiddle with the baking time. (You could freeze the second loaf–if it doesn't disappear too fast to need freezing!)
The bread was wonderful. Think it's the best bread I've ever made.
I used the all-purpose light wheat bread recipe. I substituted KA white-wheat for regular wheat flour, and it worked beautifully.
Think that next time I'll bake it in two smaller pans, so it won't need to stay in the oven so long.
I don't want to mess it up, though.
You thoughts on using smaller pans?
I got the book from the library to give it a test run, but will definitely be buying it.
Thanks for showing us how to make bread so easily and simply.
Oh, boy, sounds good, Margie. Yes, these are not batter breads, so once the first "bubbling" rise is done, it's best to stiffen up the dough before the second rise, if necessary. Would love to hear what you made and the final results.
My first loaf of bread from your book is now in the second rise.
I was worried that the dough wasn't stiff enough; so I added more flour, as you suggested.
In a couple of hours, I'll be enjoying warm bread with butter and home-made plum jelly. Oh, yum!
This bread looks delish! Chilies and cheese, two of my favorites.
Ah, that sounds fantastic! Whole wheat would surely require a lot of testing, so thanks for putting in the time to get it right. I recently tried the fast whole wheat bread from King Arthur Flour and it's pretty inventive, too.
"Crunchy-Munchy Pumpkin" makes me giggle. 🙂 Genius!
Oh,yes, I have a whole chapter of breads that are mostly whole grain, including one that's 100 percent whole wheat–it took a lot of testing to get it right. Plus, there are other recipes throughout that are multigrain or seeded multigrain. One of my faves is called Crunchy-Munchy Pumpkin, Sunflower and Flax Seed Boule!
The method is versatile & unique–I really wanted one that would enable even super busy folks and bread novices to bake good bread whenever they liked.
Nancy, this sounds like a very versatile and innovative recipe! I wonder if any of the breads in your book are made with whole grain flour? That would definitely draw me in even more…