A simple no-knead bread recipe

As autumn gradually makes way for the winter months, a loaf of bread was on my to-bake list, along with a plum pie. The method I used to make this bread was inspired by another “no-knead” method I learned while participating in an online course about food fermentation. It is a simple recipe that uses the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a leavening agent. While fermenting and experimenting with fermentation, I like to think about how our ancestors would have also been doing something similar and bread is one of humanity’s oldest fermentation recipes!

I really liked the flour that I chose to use for this recipe - Graham whole wheat flour - and I would use the same recipe again.

This recipe uses a 12 hour fermentation period which results in a unique and tasty loaf of bread. However, when making this recipe with fresh yeast, I noticed that after about half way, the dough began to sink. I tried making this bread again using a shorter fermentation time here.

The biochemistry involved in baking bread

Before getting to the recipe, I like understanding the significant biochemistry involved in the baking of the bread - fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a single-cell microorganism in the fungi kingdom - a yeast. Its name gives us a clue as to how it is involved in fermentation. “Saccharo” derives from Greek and Latin for sugar (like the word saccharide which is a synonym for carbohydrate). “Myces“ is derived from the Latin and Greek for fungus (like the word mycelium, which are the branching hyphae of a fungus). “Cerevisiae” is Latin for of beer (interestingly, Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain). So, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a sugar-eating fungus used in beer making (and bread making)!

The term fermentation is confusingly used to describe both literal biochemical fermentation as well as any metabolic process involving microorganisms. So, while the yeast in the baking process indeed carries out biochemical fermentation, it also performs aerobic respiration.

When the dough is initally left to “ferment”, the oxygen present enables the yeast to undergo aerobic respiration - where the cell uses oxygen to convert sugars into energy. Once the oxygen has been depleted, the yeast turns to fermentation - where sugar is used to produce energy, albeit less than with respiration, in the absence of oxygen. The byproduct of both these processes that is the key component in making bread rise is CO₂, carbon dioxide.

Gluten in the dough - formed by the proteins gliadin and glutenin interacting with water - acts as a matrix that traps the bubbles of carbon dioxide that the yeast produces, enabling the bread to the “rise”.

Other byproducts of the yeast’s metabolism also contribute to flavour in bread making.

Using different flours

This recipe works with different types of flour such as Graham wheat flour or plain white flour. Often, when using different flour the water content is also adjusted. For instance, if the recipe usually calls for white flour but one uses whole wheat flour, then extra water might be necessary.

Because whole wheat flour contains the bran and germ, water is also absorbed by fiber instead of just being used up in the formation of the gluten matrix.

Since my first recipe used whole wheat flour, when I repeated it with plain flour I noticed that the dough was significantly more wet, sticky and harder to handle. Ultimately, once the loaves of bread were baked, they were both delicious. They did have slightly different textures though. They were both satisfyingly moist, but the loaf made with whole wheat Graham flour was denser and the loaf made with plain white flour was filled with more large airy holes.

Ingredients

• 2 ²/₃ cups flour (I used Graham whole wheat flour, then repeated the recipe with plain white flour)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh yeast
• 320mL warm water
• 1mL lemon juice

Method

1. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl.


2. Put the yeast into the warm water and mix until dissolved. You should notice some bubbles form as the yeast starts to produce small amounts of carbon dioxide.


Mix the fresh yeast into a bowl of warm water before adding the yeast to the flour.

3. Combine the flour with the water.


4. Finally add the lemon juice and mix all ingredients together. The dough will be sticky and “shaggy”.


5. Cover the bowl of dough with cling-wrap or something else that makes a tight seal. This is to ensure that moisture can’t escape and prevent the dough from drying out. The first time I made this bread I made the mistake of only covering my dough with a dry tea towel. Consequently, the dough formed a hard crust on the surface and did not rise very well.


This is the dough made with plain white flour before the overnight fermentation process.



This is the dough made with Graham flour before the overnight fermentation process.

6. Leave the dough to ferment for 12 hours at room temperature.


This is the dough made with plain white flour after the 12 hour fermentation.



This is the dough made with Graham flour after the 12 hour fermentation.

7. Prepare a Dutch oven (or alternative like a pot and lid) and preheat the oven to 230ºC with the Dutch oven inside. Leaving enough time (~30 minutes) for it to preheat ensures the bread doesn‘t stick to the bottom of the dutch oven (or pot).


8. Shape the dough and cut some slashes into the top. One can also sprinkle some seeds and extra flour on top too. Bake it inside the Dutch oven for around 30 minutes. Try to put it in the Dutch oven as fast as possible.


9. Take the Dutch oven lid off and cook it for another 10-20 minutes to brown the top.


10. When the bread is done, it should sound hallow when you knock on it.

This is the bread loaf made with Graham flour.

This bread loaf is made with plain white flour.

So, that’s it! I love this easy recipe. The fermentation time is long, but you can leave it overnight and it also means you don’t need to worry about kneading the dough. When it’s ready, I like to enjoy my bread simply with some butter.

There are many ways to make bread and, thus, there is room to play around with the ingredients and their ratios. In the future, I would like to experiment with the amount of water, yeast and fermentation time. All of these factors can change the qualities of the final bread product.

Preventing the dough drying out - learning from experience

The first time I made this bread I did not cover the dough poperly while leaving it to ferment. Instead of creating a tight seal with cling-wrap or something similar, I simply through a tea towel over the top of the bowl.

How much the dough dries out probably depends on the environment. The dry, hot air of my house (with the heater on) meant that after the 12 hour fermentation, the dough developed a hard crust on it’s surface.

It’s not the end of the world if this happens, as the bread still tastes good. However, it is harder to shape prior to baking and the final texture is harder, drier and more dense. It doesn’t look the prettiest either.

To avoid the dough drying out is not hard. Just ensure that your recipe has enough water and that your bowl of dough is tightly sealed.

The dough recipe originally had less water in it too. You can see it is quite a bit drier than the examples above.

This is the dough before the fermentation.

You might be able to see the dough has formed a hard surface layer (you can see the slight colour difference).

The dry crust on top can be seen which made it harder to shape and slash.

I also baked this bread in an alternative Dutch oven that probably didn’t trap the heat and moisture in as a Dutch oven should (this picture is after the aluminium foil lid was removed).

I used a dish and aluminium foil as a Dutch oven which probably didn’t mimic the Dutch oven well enough. Using a pot with a lid is a better alternative if one doesn’t have a traditional Dutch oven.

However, I did actually use this same alternative Dutch oven when I wanted to make a larger, not-so-pretty loaf of bread and it worked OK (quantity over quality this time)!

This is the final loaf of the dough that dried out. You can notice it is smaller than the bread loaf that was sufficiently kept moist. It also retained it’s previous shape and did not rise much at all in the oven.

It still tasted good...!