Malcolm Campbell - Leadership

I have always wanted to make fresh bread, but I have never enjoyed the kneading required to make great bread: some might say that I just like to avoid hard work! I also really like the sourdough style, but I don't have the patience to cultivate my starter. And then I found "no-knead" bread.

I first found "no-knead" bread on the episode of Paul Hollywood City Bakes – New York. Paul interviewed Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery who demonstrated his technique. You can find the episode on SBS On Demand if you have a subscription. You can see Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York in an older video showing his method.

I had everything I needed at home so I gave the method a go. It worked amazingly well! This early success and with the encouragement of my family, I made a second, then a third and suddenly, my bread became a request. While I had no failures, there were many things that I learnt about the dough and the bread. These subtle changes have led me to adapt and slightly modify the techniques developed by Jim Lahey.

Ingredients & Equipment

Product	Description
	600g Strong Flour While you can make bread from plain flour, it is much better to use a strong flour or one blended specifically for bread making. Many supermarkets and specialty food stores will sell bread flour. I use the pre-packaged Laucke brand. There are a few different blends including Crusty White and Barossa Sourdough Rye.
	2 Cups Tepid Water I always have two cups of water ready. When you first make the dough, use 1¾ cups keeping the rest to use if required. Remember this recipe is for 600g flour. The water should be tepid, not icy cold, and definitely not hot.
	1 tsp Yeast All bread uses yeast to give the bread rise and crumb. Because this recipe leaves the dough to prove for 18 hours, you don't need as much yeast as required for traditional loaves that have a faster proving time. I have found that one teaspoon for 600g of flour is enough. If, after your first attempt, you want more rise, then you could try a bit more. Dried yeast works for me.
	Canola Oil Spray You will need some canola oil spray in two parts of the bake. I would suggest to not use olive oil as this tend to burn at high temperatures and it will mark your cookware. You need to spray the mixing bowl on the second prove. You will also need to spray your cookware prior to the bake.
	Mixing Bowl You will need a mixing bowl that will hold at least twice the amount of dough you intend to make. For 600g of flour, I use a 28cm diameter bowl. I like to use a ceramic bowl because it holds the cling film cover tightly.
	Cast Iron Pot and Lid The bread is baked in a Dutch Oven — an enamelled cast iron pot with a lid. I have two: a 3.5L oval shaped pot and a 5L circular pot. My oval shaped pot, being smaller, creates loaves that are a bit higher and domed, whereas the larger circular pot creates a flatter topped loaf. The choice is really up to you. Make sure the lid has a metal knob. The bakelite/plastic knobs do tend to burn.
	Some Other Items There are a few other items that you will need. Cling film to cover the dough while is proving. If you don't cover the dough it will form a crust that does not bake well. You will need some plain flour for shaping the dough. The dough will need a teaspoon of table salt. Lastly, you might want to use some baking paper to prevent flour going all over the bench.

Let's Make Bread!

Mal shows how he makes his bread in a number of easy-to-follow steps.

Comments

Kim - Port Melbourne 03-Aug-2020

Unlike Mal, I did have a couple of failed attempts but following his method, including timing, technique and ingredients resulted in a ‘magnificent’ loaf of bread. I am no baker but this is fun!

Method

It is best to watch the video. As a reminder, the steps are:

Make the dough
Mix 600g bread flour in the bowl with a teaspoon of yeast, a teaspoon of salt and 1¾ cups of tepid water. Mix the dough until it forms a ball and is not too dry, but definitely not wet. Add extra water very slowly if needed. Cover the bowl with cling film.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for 18 hours. If you mix the dough at 1pm, it will finish proving at 7am and be ready for the next step.
Shape the dough
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Gently coat the dough with the flour and tuck the edges under to form a smooth ball. The dough should feel elastic.

Wash and dry your bowl and spray the indise of the bowl with canola oil. Gently lift the dough up and place into the bowl. Cover the bowl and then let the dough prove for two more hours until doubled in size.
Bake
Preheat your oven with the cast iron pot and lid to 225C (fan-forced). When the oven reaches the correct temperature, remove the pot and spray the inside with canola oil. Take your dough and gently tip it into the pot. Cover and put it back in the oven to bake for 60 minutes. At the end of the bake, remove the lid and continue baking with the pot for 5 minutes more. Keep baking in 5 minute intervals until you get the colour you want. (I usually use just one 5 minute interval.
Finish and cool
Remove the pot from the oven and carefully remove the loaf from the pot. It should be the same colour all over and not have any burnt spots. When you knock on the bottom it should sound hollow. Cool and then eat.

Visitors: 0