andy's no-knead bread

 

not much to tell - here it is after the second rising:

 

 

and here it is carefully rolled over so it is seam-side up and into the heated dutch oven:

 

 

the timer is running, and after 30 minutes, i will remove the lid to the dutch oven so that it can finish, and we will see what we've got!

 

 

 

 

once it has cooled down a bit, i will put it in a tupperware bowl with a lid to stay fresh and so that the crust can soften up a bit while still remaining crusty-brown and good.

 

you've all been very patient, so here's some eye-candy:

 

 

 

 

i might sneak a little piece off the end for sampling and evaluation yet tonight, but most likely, this will wait until morning. i may get one or two more pix showing the interior and the crumb ~

 

i can't recommend this recipe an method enough - it is fool-proof and impossible to screw up, with very lavish results. enjoy!

 

i did try an end piece last night while it was cooled but still warm. very good, very crusty, and very soft and savory inside. it was slightly moister than i expected inside, and this made it a little heavy. i think a little more baking while covered might have prevented this...or maybe not?

 

andy, if you have any thoughts or experience where this is concerned, let me know. this is wonderful stuff and i think with a little more experience it might be my "go-to" bread for special occasions!

 

after the above post, i cut a piece for the beautiful mrs. tas and myself. i noticed it wasn't nearly as moist as it was last night, and was exactly at the level where i really like and prefer bread to be. i am assuming this has to do with the finishing of the cooling-off and also with the migration of the moisture throughout the loaf while in a covered container, as evidenced by the crust, which wasn't as crunchy as it was last night but was very chewy-yett-still-crusty, EXACTLY the way i like it!

 

 

this is indeed the bread for me, and the good news is that mrs. tas was similarly impressed. in fact, i have standing orders to make another loaf for superbowl tomorrow....

 

on andy's thread, curious_aardvark makes a comparison between this bread and ciabatta, and i think that this may very well be a valid comparison. as i recall, ciabatta utilizes a biga or preferment in order to get going, and judging by the looks of the crust and crumb, the very same results are produced.

 

 

i suppose to be "official" ciabatta, it needs to be in the shape of an elongated loaf or perhaps in rolls rather than a large, round loaf, but i won't tell if you don't!

 

ciabatta or not, this is a MUST TRY for anyone, expert or novice, who enjoys wonderful-tasting bread.

 

hey, andy - thanks for the congratulations - i couldn't have done it without your example!

 

i did use unbleached bread flour, and while i thought i needed to double the yeast, i have decided in hindsight that this was not necessary. the lengthened resting time did exactly the right work to raise this wonderful bread, and 1/4 tsp. is all a person needs!

 

with that, my advice to all is: follow the recipe and andy's method!

 

here is what it looks like in the bowl with 12 hours rise...

 

I was trying to figure out how to make rolls out of it but can not come up with something since it is so fluffy and sticky...would have to use major amouts of flour to be able to work it and doing that I'm pretty sure would work against what the recipe is getting at??