Persephone wrote in :

On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 18:36:31 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior
wrote:

Persephone wrote in :

On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:37:21 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior
wrote:

zxcvbob wrote in news:59lbftF2j2tvaU1
:

The best results I've ever had was this year when I took some
unusually-hard-to-sprout pepper seeds to work, planted in a
Tupperware container and put them on the back of my computer
monitor
during the days. I took them off at night and removed the lids and
let them cool off and breathe. I got almost 100% germination in
about a week and the seedlings are now strong and healthy. Last
year the same seeds took almost a month to get maybe 10%
germination
and the seedlings were weak not a single one survived. The bottom
heat was the only difference.

Funny you should mention that. When I make no-knead bread I put it
on
my computer monitor to rise -- works like a charm.

Dang, cain't do thet nohow on flat screen...

Mebbe heating pad on low setting?

Persephone


For the seeds or the bread?

I've heard of people using that for seeds.

Hmmm...seeds, I guess. Never made no-knead bread.
A friend of mine used a bread machine, but I don't know if that
qualifies for "no-knead".


Nope. No bread machine or long bouts of kneading needed for this bread.
It makes fantastic bread, too. Here you go:

Best-selling cookbook author Mark BIttman is the creator and author of
the popular New York Times weekly column, "The Minimalist," and one of
the country's best-known and widely admired food writers. His flagship
book, How to Cook Everything, is currently in its fourteenth printing and
has, in its various formats, sold over a million copies.

Mark is also a regular guest on the “Today” show and NPR's “All Things
Considered” and has also appeared on countless national and local radio
and television shows. He has been profiled in this country's leading
newspapers, including the Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Los Angeles
Times.

No Knead Bread – Original Recipe
Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf

Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and
stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with
plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at
warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. (This is where the computer
monitor comes in handy.)

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a
work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour
and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap
and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to
your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat
a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put
dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it
is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily
spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put
a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic)
in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven.
Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up;
it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if
dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover
with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30
minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

No Knead Bread – Optional Recipes

WEIGHT VS. VOLUME - The original recipe contained volume measures, but
for those who prefer to use weight, here are the measurements: 430 grams
of flour, 345 grams of water, 1 gram of yeast and 8 grams of salt. With
experience, many people will stop measuring altogether and add just
enough water to make the dough almost too wet to handle.

SALT - Many people, me included, felt Mr. Lahey’s bread was not salty
enough. Yes, you can use more salt and it won’t significantly affect the
rising time. I’ve settled at just under a tablespoon.


YEAST - Instant yeast, called for in the recipe, is also called rapid-
rise yeast. But you can use whatever yeast you like. Active dry yeast can
be used without proofing (soaking it to make sure it’s active).


TIMING - About 18 hours is the preferred initial rising time. Some
readers have cut this to as little as eight hours and reported little
difference. I have not had much luck with shorter times, but I have gone
nearly 24 hours without a problem. Room temperature will affect the
rising time, and so will the temperature of the water you add (I start
with tepid). Like many other people, I’m eager to see what effect warmer
weather will have. But to those who have moved the rising dough around
the room trying to find the 70-degree sweet spot: please stop. Any normal
room temperature is fine. Just wait until you see bubbles and well-
developed gluten — the long strands that cling to the sides of the bowl
when you tilt it — before proceeding.


THE SECOND RISE - Mr. Lahey originally suggested one to two hours, but
two to three is more like it, in my experience. (Ambient temperatures in
the summer will probably knock this time down some.) Some readers almost
entirely skipped this rise, shaping the dough after the first rise and
letting it rest while the pot and oven preheat; this is worth trying, of
course.


OTHER FLOURS - Up to 30 percent whole-grain flour works consistently and
well, and 50 percent whole-wheat is also excellent. At least one reader
used 100 percent whole-wheat and reported “great crust but somewhat
inferior crumb,” which sounds promising. I’ve kept rye, which is
delicious but notoriously impossible to get to rise, to about 20 percent.
There is room to experiment.


FLAVORINGS -The best time to add caraway seeds, chopped olives, onions,
cheese, walnuts, raisins or whatever other traditional bread flavorings
you like is after you’ve mixed the dough. But it’s not the only time; you
can fold in ingredients before the second rising.


OTHER SHAPES - Baguettes in fish steamers, rolls in muffin tins or
classic loaves in loaf pans: if you can imagine it, and stay roughly
within the pattern, it will work.


COVERING BETWEEN RISES - A Silpat mat under the dough is a clever idea
(not mine). Plastic wrap can be used as a top layer in place of a second
towel.


THE POT - The size matters, but not much. I have settled on a smaller pot
than Mr. Lahey has, about three or four quarts. This produces a higher
loaf, which many people prefer — again, me included. I’m using cast iron.
Readers have reported success with just about every available material.
Note that the lid handles on Le Creuset pots can only withstand
temperatures up to 400 degrees. So avoid using them, or remove the handle
first.


BAKING - You can increase the initial temperature to 500 degrees for more
rapid browning, but be careful; I scorched a loaf containing whole-wheat
flour by doing this. Yes, you can reduce the length of time the pot is
covered to 20 minutes from 30, and then increase the time the loaf bakes
uncovered. Most people have had a good experience baking for an
additional 30 minutes once the pot is uncovered.

As these answers demonstrate, almost everything about Mr. Lahey’s bread
is flexible, within limits. As we experiment, we will have failures.
(Like the time I stopped adding flour because the phone rang, and didn’t
realize it until 18 hours later. Even this, however, was reparable). This
method is going to have people experimenting, and largely succeeding,
until something better comes along. It may be quite a while.