Well, this was a guarded success!

First, the negatives:

I use spelt flour, which tends to be slack and not raise as well as I'd
like - but I can eat as much of it as I want.

I'd probably use a smaller diameter pot next time, to force a little
more rise.

Damned thing stuck like Gorilla Glue to my very well floured linen
cloth, so the top isn't as pretty as it should be.

Now, the positives:

Wonderful crust! I didn't hear it "sing" as it cooled, but this is a
crackling, relatively thick crust, not tough or hard, but a great crunch.

Nice, open crumb, with what I at least consider good gluten development
and glossy bubbles.

Very good flavor developed. Could handle rich additives like garlic and
olives without losing it's own character.

Baking notes:

I adjusted the published recipe to weights, converting his "42% water"
to 72% hydration. Measured out 1 5/8 cups of room-temp water, which I
then weighed. Added 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast and 1 1/2 tsp salt,
then hand mixed in 1.38 times the water weight of unbleached white spelt
flour.

Turned into an oiled bowl (maybe a little too much oil) and flipped it
over, then left at ~68 to 70 F for almost 20 hours. (Weekend baking
would be better!)

Turned out onto a lightly floured work surface and did a couple of folds
with the bench knife, then left covered to rest for 15 minutes.

Formed up into a ball as well as I could, given it's very slack, sticky
nature, and flipped it onto a heavily dusted smooth linen towel. Covered
and left it to rise again for 2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours, fired up the oven to 450 F, with a heavy walled
non-stick aluminum pot preheating. At 2 hours, gently rolled the boule
into the pot. Yeah, right! Hung it by the towel, as I cut the mass loose
with the bench knife, dropping it into the hot pot. Shook the pot gently
to spread the dough a bit, but it was elastic enough to hold onto its
rough shape.

Covered tightly and baked for 30 minutes, then removed the cover and
returned it to the ovem for 20 more minutes.

Was able to hold off my self and wife for an hour, as it cooled, made
the first cut, and took some money shots...

Browse to: http://david-bell1.magix.net/
Click on "NYT Bread" on the left side menu, then on "Image overview"
after the slideshow starts. You can then double-click on the thumbnails
for decently large images.

Dave

Dave Bell wrote:
Well, this was a guarded success!

First, the negatives:

I use spelt flour, which tends to be slack and not raise as well as I'd
like - but I can eat as much of it as I want.

I'd probably use a smaller diameter pot next time, to force a little
more rise.

Damned thing stuck like Gorilla Glue to my very well floured linen
cloth, so the top isn't as pretty as it should be.

The definition of well-floured is that it doesn't stick. If
it did, it wasn't well-floured - enough. In the video, they
mention bran or corn meal as alternatives.

Now, the positives:

Wonderful crust! I didn't hear it "sing" as it cooled, but this is a
crackling, relatively thick crust, not tough or hard, but a great crunch.

The closed top surface is probably due to the oil in the
rising bowl. Omitting it gives a more open, rustic-looking
crust.

Nice, open crumb, with what I at least consider good gluten development
and glossy bubbles.

Very good flavor developed. Could handle rich additives like garlic and
olives without losing it's own character.

Baking notes:

I adjusted the published recipe to weights, converting his "42% water"
to 72% hydration. Measured out 1 5/8 cups of room-temp water, which I
then weighed. Added 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast and 1 1/2 tsp salt,
then hand mixed in 1.38 times the water weight of unbleached white spelt
flour.

The video calls for 1 1/2 cups water and I've found that, at
this hydration level, the dough holds a shape slightly
better and the oven shoot is stronger.
http://tinyurl.com/uazou Read it and then click on video.

Turned into an oiled bowl (maybe a little too much oil) and flipped it
over, then left at ~68 to 70 F for almost 20 hours. (Weekend baking
would be better!)

No oil. Follow the directions. Mix it in a bowl and just
leave it there, covered. It sticks, but that's what floured
fingers, spatulas and plastic dough scrapers are for. Make
it before bedtime and bake it for supper the next evening.

Turned out onto a lightly floured work surface and did a couple of folds
with the bench knife, then left covered to rest for 15 minutes.

Formed up into a ball as well as I could, given it's very slack, sticky
nature, and flipped it onto a heavily dusted smooth linen towel. Covered
and left it to rise again for 2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours, fired up the oven to 450 F, with a heavy walled
non-stick aluminum pot preheating. At 2 hours, gently rolled the boule
into the pot. Yeah, right! Hung it by the towel, as I cut the mass loose
with the bench knife, dropping it into the hot pot. Shook the pot gently
to spread the dough a bit, but it was elastic enough to hold onto its
rough shape.

Try it at 500F with a baking sheet under the pot.

Covered tightly and baked for 30 minutes, then removed the cover and
returned it to the oven for 20 more minutes.

Was able to hold off my self and wife for an hour, as it cooled, made
the first cut, and took some money shots...

Browse to: http://david-bell1.magix.net/
Click on "NYT Bread" on the left side menu, then on "Image overview"
after the slideshow starts. You can then double-click on the thumbnails
for decently large images.

Dave

My wife, the official Designated Baker in the family, gave it a shot today
(beginning yesterday, actually -- 24 hours overall). She followed the recipe
exactly, by volume, not by weight (her choice). The dough was extremely wet,
making the inital folds problematic. It took an extra 15minutes of resting and
heavily floured hands to get it to the point where a seam was evident.

We used a smaller diameter dutch oven as well -- about 9".

The result is quite tasty, with no noticeable sourdough flavor from the
fermentation. Very crackly crust, but ours would seem to be not as thick a crust
as Dave's -- I would call it fairly thin, actually. Nice airy texture.

Not bad, but herself doesn't think it's worth the effort and attention it
requires, and the mess it creates. 8

A pic is at http://www.xhost.org/images/nokneadb.jpg.

-- Larry

On Sat, 11 Nov 2006 16:25:23 -0500, pltrgyst
wrote:

My wife, the official Designated Baker in the family, gave it a shot today
(beginning yesterday, actually -- 24 hours overall). She followed the recipe
exactly, by volume, not by weight (her choice). The dough was extremely wet,
making the inital folds problematic. It took an extra 15minutes of resting and
heavily floured hands to get it to the point where a seam was evident.

We used a smaller diameter dutch oven as well -- about 9".

The result is quite tasty, with no noticeable sourdough flavor from the
fermentation. Very crackly crust, but ours would seem to be not as thick a crust
as Dave's -- I would call it fairly thin, actually. Nice airy texture.

Not bad, but herself doesn't think it's worth the effort and attention it
requires, and the mess it creates. 8

A pic is at http://www.xhost.org/images/nokneadb.jpg.

-- Larry

I've some burbling away now to bake tomorrow.

I also have a vat of sourdough frothing to make into a few loaves
tomorrow, too. The NYT will be plain white, the sourdough will have
white, whole wheat, rye, spelt, oats & flax.

Boron

pltrgyst wrote:
My wife, the official Designated Baker in the family, gave it a shot today
(beginning yesterday, actually -- 24 hours overall). She followed the recipe
exactly, by volume, not by weight (her choice). The dough was extremely wet,
making the inital folds problematic. It took an extra 15minutes of resting and
heavily floured hands to get it to the point where a seam was evident.

We used a smaller diameter dutch oven as well -- about 9".

The result is quite tasty, with no noticeable sourdough flavor from the
fermentation. Very crackly crust, but ours would seem to be not as thick a crust
as Dave's -- I would call it fairly thin, actually. Nice airy texture.

Not bad, but herself doesn't think it's worth the effort and attention it
requires, and the mess it creates. 8

It is messy as described. I found that a slightly lower
hydration made a big difference. I used 1 1/3 cup water for
today's and it was much easier to handle.

A pic is at http://www.xhost.org/images/nokneadb.jpg.

Pretty. Mine got a higher rise and a more open crust.

Pastorio