This No-Knead Bacon Bread Recipe Is Our Everything (2024)

FAQs

Why is my no-knead bread so flat? ›

Editor: Shani, it sounds that your yeast may be too old and expired, or perhaps you're not letting the dough rest adequately after shaping and before baking. Take a look at our no-knead bread step-by-step (with pictures!) and compare your process; you may find a way to tweak it.

No-Knead bread is justifiably popular due to its ease and good results. In side-by-side tests, we discovered that 90 seconds of extra work, plus a few tweaks to the ingredients, takes no-knead bread from good to great.

Why is my bread dense: Usually bread will be too dense when there is too much flour. Keep in mind this dough will be pretty sticky, do not add more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour. Little yeast, long rise, sticky dough are keys to a good, light loaf.

An even longer rise: Put this no-knead dough in the fridge immediately after mixing or after the first overnight rise. I've left it for as long as 5 days in the fridge before baking and it works just fine. As a bonus, gluten tightens up in the cold, meaning cold dough is slightly easier to shape.

You can hasten this development by pushing the moistened flour around, but it will also happen all on its own if you give the dough enough time. No-knead bread uses a very small amount of yeast to extend the rising time to many hours.

The folds create better structure in three ways. First, the action of stretching and folding the dough develops gluten strands. Second, the introduction of a little oxygen during the folds also helps boost structure as oxygen is necessary for gluten formation.

Pros: Develops dough without adding additional flour (as with traditional kneading). Effective method, especially with slack doughs such as baguettes. Cons: Takes time and repetitions to master. Less effective with doughs that are either stiff or high hydration — best with medium-soft doughs.

Ingredients You'll Need

all-purpose flour (bread flour can work, too!)

Longer fermentation gives bread stronger flavors. “A yeasty aroma and acidic flavors start to develop, adding more flavor to the finished bread,” Blakeslee said. Some bakers choose to do the extra step of making a sponge in order to add a slight sour and tangy flavor to the bread.

Because yeast does not divide much in bread dough (only 20-30% increase in cell numbers in 4 hours), what you start with is what you end up with in terms of yeast numbers. This can affect the bread by adding a "yeasty" taste if you put too much into the dough.

What temperature do you bake bread at? ›

Pop the loaves into a 375º oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The loaves should be golden brown. If you want to be sure they're baked through, use your thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread. You're looking for about 185º.

Insufficient time may have been allowed for the dough to rise correctly. Try leaving it a little longer. Where was the dough placed to rise? The room temperature can affect the yeast too.

The water temperature should be between 110 - 115 F degrees. If your liquid is too hot (i.e. boiling) it will kill the yeast and prevent the rise. If it's not hot enough, the yeast won't have the heat needed to bloom.

But almost as good as a proofing box is taking a Mason jar filled halfway up with water, microwaving it for two minutes, then putting your bowl of dough into the microwave with the jar to rise. The other thing you can do is place your lidded container or bowl of dough into a second, larger bowl of warm water.