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Serious question, did anyone else try that King Arthur no-knead bread recipe for the first time last weekend?
I finally baked that popular King Arthur no-knead bread recipe on Saturday after three failed attempts at other recipes and it actually came out with a crispy crust and soft inside, so now I'm wondering if the hydration ratio is just the secret I was missing or did I just get lucky with my oven that day?
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lee.lucas1mo ago
lol nah you probably didn't just get lucky, that recipe is honestly foolproof once you get the hydration right. the 75% hydration thing is a game changer cause it makes the dough so slack that it practically forms its own structure without kneading. but here's the thing - a lot of people mess it up by not letting it rest long enough or using the wrong flour, so it's not really luck. the key is that high hydration + a long ferment creates those big air pockets and the crispy crust. your oven temp matters too, like if you preheated the dutch oven hot enough that's prob why it worked. just don't overthink it, you nailed it.
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stone.thomas1mo ago
Yeah you said it about the long ferment, that was the game changer for me too. I remember my first few loaves came out like hockey pucks because I was rushing the bulk rise. Once I let it sit in the fridge overnight like the recipe said, the structure just magically appeared. And totally agree on the flour thing, I switched from all purpose to bread flour and it was like night and day with how the dough held together. I think a lot of people give up after one bad attempt but really it's just little tweaks like that.
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