Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads (37 page)

1 small bag granulated sugar (from the kit)

1 teaspoon yeast (measure it out from the kit packet)

1 jar Chocolate—Chocolate Chip Mix

Scant 1¼ cups ice water (add ice cubes to cold water and stir for 30 seconds before measuring), plus more if needed

3 tablespoons corn oil, canola oil, or safflower oil, plus more for coating pan and dough top

First Rise
Remove the bag of garnishing sugar and the yeast packet from the jar; set aside. Turn out the jar of dry mix into a large bowl. Measure out and thoroughly stir in 1 teaspoon yeast. In a medium bowl, measure out a scant 1¼ cups ice cold water and whisk the oil into it. Vigorously stir the water mixture into the dry ingredients, scrape down the bowl sides, and continue stirring until thoroughly blended and smooth. If the mixture is too dry to incorporate all the flour, a bit at a time, stir in just enough more ice water to blend the ingredients; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be very stiff. Brush the top with a little oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, refrigerate the dough for 3 to 8 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature (about 70°F) for 12 to 18 hours.

Second Rise
Turn out the dough into a well-oiled 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Brush the top lightly with oil, then smooth and press out evenly in the pan with an oiled rubber spatula (or fingertips). Cut a ½-inch-deep slash down the dough center using oiled kitchen shears or a serrated knife. Cover with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.

Let Rise Using Either of These Methods
For a 2½- to 4-hour regular rise, let stand at warm (74° to 75°F) room temperature; for a 1½- to 2½-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water. Let rise until the dough doubles from its deflated size or nears the pan rim, then remove the plastic and continue until the dough extends just above the rim. Sprinkle over the sugar from the plastic bag.

Baking Preliminaries
15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350°F.

Baking
Bake on the lower rack for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is puffed and well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with only a few moist particles at the end. Then bake for 10 to 15 minutes more to ensure that the center is done. If the top browns too rapidly, cover it with foil. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the loaf to the rack and cool completely.

Serving and Storing
The loaf slices best when cool, but the bread is good served warm or at room temperature. Cool completely before storing. To maintain the crisp crust, store draped with a clean kitchen towel; or to prevent the loaf from drying out, store airtight in plastic or foil. Store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days; freeze, airtight, for up to 2 months, then thaw, unwrapped, at room temperature. When thawed, re-crisp the crust in a 375°F oven for a few minutes.

KS Quotient

Easy: Easy mix, few ingredients. Makes a great gift. No hand-shaping required.

This recipe enables you to prepare an appealing jar of bread mix to give a friend, relative, or anyone on your gift list. (I like to make up an extra jar, so I can easily treat myself once in a while.) Even a novice baker can turn out this crusty, attractive loaf without muss or fuss and no ingredients other than water and a little vegetable oil. The big, rustic, versatile loaf has a mild yet addictive grain flavor and a light, springy, slightly holey crumb. It smells and tastes like an artisan bread, yet requires no artisan skills.

The flavor comes from the subtle blending of four grains, including some brown rice flour, and three seeds, including flax seed. These ingredients are not likely to be on hand in your cupboard, but are usually stocked in the gluten-free baking sections of health food stores, as well as in some large supermarkets.

Alternatively, prepare your own brown rice flour by grinding uncooked brown rice to a powder using a blender or clean coffee mill. (Measure out the ¼ cup after the flour is ground.) Regular long-grain brown rice will do, but if you can find it, brown basmati rice delivers the sweetest flavor. In a pinch, omit the flax seed from the recipe and add an extra 2 teaspoons each of the sesame and poppy seeds. The bread flavor will not be quite as irresistible, but will still be very good.

Yield: 1 quart of mix, yielding 1 large loaf

3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached white bread flour

¼ cup (1.25 ounces) whole wheat flour

¼ cup brown rice flour

2 tablespoons rolled oats or quick-cooking (not instant) oats

2½ tablespoons granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons table salt

1½ tablespoons
each
sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and flax seed, mixed together

2 tablespoons cornmeal, preferably yellow

1 packet instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast

Set out a completely dry clear glass or transparent plastic 1-quart or 1-liter jar, along with its lid. Set out a square of heavy-duty aluminum foil to use as a funnel. (Or use a funnel, if you have one.)
Place the white flour on the foil, then use the foil as a funnel to add the flour to the jar. Rap the jar on the counter to even and compact the layer. Thoroughly stir together the whole wheat flour, brown rice flour, oats, sugar, salt, and all but 1½ tablespoons of the seed mixture on the foil. Add to the jar; rap it again to even the layer. Put the remaining seeds and the cornmeal in a small plastic bag; close tightly. Push the bag and the yeast packet into the neck of the jar. If it will be shipped, push crumpled wax paper into any extra space at the top. Attach a sheet or card with the instructions for making the bread to the jar.

Storage

The unopened mix will keep for up to 1½ months unrefrigerated, 3 months refrigerated.

Don't forget to give the following recipe along with your gift

1 teaspoon yeast (measured out from enclosed packet)

Cornmeal-seed mixture for garnish (from the enclosed bag)

1 jar Going with the Grain Mix

Scant 2 cups ice water (add ice cubes to cold water and stir for 30 seconds before measuring), plus more if needed

About 1½ tablespoons corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless oil for coating pan and dough top