As can see I've been making bread again! I tried the No Knead Bread recipe a couple of months ago and loved the simplicity of it. It just takes a little more planning than usual, which means making the dough the night before, but this is done in a matter of minutes because no kneading is required. I also loved the hard crust that baking in the cast iron pot creates, but to be honest, the bread lacked flavor and this was very disappointing.
Since then, I've discovered the Almost No Knead recipe developed by Cook's illustrated. They corrected the lack of flavor with the addition of beer and vinegar, which mimics the sourdough taste of artisan breads. I have baked the white flour version and found it to be much tastier than it's cousin - hurrah! However, I have been intrigued to discover if the wholewheat version would be just as good.
This recipe method is "almost" exactly the same, the dough just requires to be kneaded 10 - 15 times after resting for 8 to 18 hours. The wholewheat version is sweetened with honey which adds really great flavor and has a softer and closer texture. I made a double batch of dough and made rolls with half of it, they tended not to be so crusty because they're baked in a regular baking pan but they were equally as delicious. Hope you try it!
Almost No Knead Wholewheat Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups (10 ounces) all purpose or bread flour
1 cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) water at room temp
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ounces) mild flavored lager (can be non-alcoholic)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Directions:
- Whisk flours, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add honey,water, beer, and vinegar.
- Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.
- Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times.
- Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.
- About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
- Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven.
- Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 200 degrees, 15 - 20 minutes longer.
- Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
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| Almost No Knead Wholewheat Rolls |
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