demi complet no knead bread

Before I start talking about carbs I would like to tell you the story of how today was the day I got SPAT ON!

Mid morning I could contain my new found enthusiasm for running no longer and I headed out the door on a two mile loop when I quickly found myself behind a man pushing a stroller. Nothing weird so far, except for the cigarette he was apparently lighting up and the big gust of smoke that blew in my eager lungs. Feeling this was not a particularly good position to be running in I decided to stealthily pass him, his baby and his cigarette road side. As I did just that he turned his head and spat on the ground which was now covered (ever so briefly) by my shoe! What made in laugh made me speechless, for so many reasons better left behind. Gross, gross, gross.

Onward to better things. My friend A and I have been working on a foolproof recipe for an healthier version of the no knead bread and I thing this is it!

Today's Loaf

 

Recipe adapted from the New York Times and with help from Penni Wisner

Semi-Whole Wheat No Knead Bread

Start this recipe in the evening, make sure your starter is well fed and very active

mix ingredients together in this order in a medium bowl

using the rice spatula that came with your rice cooker (!)

1/2 cup of sourdough starter

2 cups of water

1.5 cups of King Arthur's Bread flour (blue bag)

1/2 to 1 Tablespoon of coarse salt

1.5 cups of Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour

 

 

Mix well and set aside. Every once in a while for the first two hours give the dough a few turns with the spatula. After that time you can cover the bowl and leave it overnight to rise. In the morning, invert the bowl on a floured plastic platter (it cuts down on cleaning considerably) and let it sit for 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball as best you can with the help of a dough scrapper and additional flour if needed; 'plop' the ball into a bowl and let rise for 2 hours. When only 30 minutes remain I usually turn on the oven ( 500 F) and place a number 22 Le Creuset dutch oven inside. My friend uses all kinds of covered dishes with success, however we think that the cast iron dish creates a thicker/crunchier crust. Bake the bread for 30 minutes with the lid on (I add a little flour to the bottom before I invert the dough inside the hot dish). Then remove the lid and bake for an additional 25 minutes with the oven temperature reduced to 425F. Remove from the dish promptly and wait until the loaf has cooled completely to cut into it. It's an important step to insure a good crumb texture.

This bread keeps for an extremely long time. We found it is still very nice after five days if stored at room temperature wrapped in a cloth towel. It is the best bread I have ever made and it matches exactly the taste and feel of Country Sourdough from the Locally Illustrious Crumb Brothers.

Comments

[Lisa]

So sorry about the spitting incident! So gross!!!

The bread looks incredible! It's a great time of year to make bread too! Do you have the Jim Lahey "My Bread" book? He has a whole wheat recipe in there but it does not use as much wheat as you use and of course he uses yeast instead of the sourdough starter. I know the sourdough starter gives it a wonderful taste but I am too lazy to keep the starter going - guess I will have to come borrow some? ;) It's been way too long since I've made bread - I'm going to go mix up a batch of bread for tomorrow! Thanks for the push!

[sam russell]

how do you start starter and care for it? can't wait to try your recipe!

[Deana Glasgow]

any suggestions for gluten free?