Sourdough No-Knead Bread Recipe (2024)

Total novice question... What does "fed" mean exactly? I understand what using unfed means, but I'm not sure about fed. Was it fed 2 hours ago? 6? 12? Any advice is appreciated.

Why is the baking temperature (550) so much higher than the temperature for regular no-knead bread (450)?

I've been baking no knead bread for several years. I use a cast iron Dutch oven, heated to 500 and then turned down to 450 when baking. One thing that has helped me, is to proof the dough on a piece of parchment paper large enough to be able to lift the proofed loaf and lower it into the Dutch oven.

I tried this recipe following the 425g of flour specified and found the dough far too liquid to work with. The next time I went by the '3.5 cups' flour, and found that came out to 600g, which made the recipe work.

You actually don't need 3/4 cup of starter. I took a seminar with Jim Lahey and what he recommended was pinch a little bit of sourdough off(maybe a 1" blob), put it in a sealable container with some or all of the water used in the recipe(I use a 1 qt. plastic container from a take-out place), shake it so the sourdough breaks up/dissolves in the water, then continue with step 2. This way it takes about 18-24 hours for the first rise.

If you've been feeding your starter with a 100% hydrated blend (ie, equal parts flour and water), I found the following to be the right blend:180g starter235g water430g flour8-16g salt, depending on personal preference.You can determine your own ideal hydration by diluting the starter in a much smaller amount of water, adding it to your dry ingredients, then adding water a little bit at a time until your dough reaches the ideal just-together shagginess for a no knead.

I made this twice and both times it was a gloopy mess... finally I pored through the comments and found the reference to weight/volume mismatch. Thanks to those commenters and hey, NYT, maybe fix that?

After it's fed, use the "float test" to make sure it's ready. Take a small spoonful of starter and drop it in a bowl of water. If it floats, it's ready to go.

Yup,made it twice by weight and once by volume. The weight on the recipe is incorrect. VERY aggravating since one of the things you get in the habit of doing when you bake bread a lot is using a kitchen scale and weighing everything. But if you use the volume measurement, it comes out beautifully!

This is almost exactly the process I have been using for years. One slight difference, I coat the pot with regular canola oil, & sprinkle sesame seeds on the bottom before putting in the dough. Also, when you remove the lid, spritz the inside of the oven with water before closing up again. It makes a great chewy/crispy crust!
I take starter on camping trips (w/ flour & salt..etc) & bake it in one of those folding omelet pans, that you can flip (closed) to cook the other side.

I made this twice as written in my 5.5 quart/5.3 litre enameled dutch oven. While it was delicious, it was a little flat and disappointing looking. An experienced sourdough baker advised me to try multiplying my recipe by 1.5, which I did with this one and the results were perfect. I baked at 450 with the top on for the full 30 minutes, and 22 with the lid off and it was the best sourdough yet, very airy, delicious and Insta-worthy!

I made it and it was very good. One thing_ I have always been told by the Le Creuset salespeople not to heat up their enameled cast iron pans with nothing in them. The enamel will crack. I bake my bread in plain old cast iron.

I found that my bread was too moist inside until I learned to say "No! It's not ready!" and let it get completely cool. I weighed it fresh out of the oven, and then 12 hours later, and found that it lost as much as an ounce (of water?), the flavor was better, and it no longer had that gooey character inside.

I thought this was a great tip for making bread: use a shower cap while it is rising! This will keep the dough moist, the heat in and not touch the top of the dough when it does rise! No more messy towels, parchment paper!

I love the results of this. Has anyone tried using rye instead of all purpose or bread flour? What did you have to change?

The second rise turned the dough into a gloopy mess. Still baked it off and it was a dense, flat loaf. I thought for sure a recipe from Sullivan Street would be a winner and then I read about the measuring discrepancies. Total fail.

I’ve had inconsistent results with this recipe. A quick YouTube search brings up similar recipes that involve using stretch and folds to develop the dough, and also letting the dough rise in the refrigerator after the initial bulk rise. This has been much more successful for me, I get a higher rise and the dough is easier to handle.

Remember water!! Not listed in the ingredients list. I have made 1,000's of loaves of bread over my life time. Not this recipe. Knew it was too dry.

I used my rye/bf starter, 100% hydration. Some comments talk about a 500F temperature which must be from an old version of the recipe. My initial rise ran to 14 hours. Everything else was in line and bake temp covered 30 mins for 30mins and 20 minutes uncovered at same temp. I used my smaller 5 quart Lodge cast iron Dutch oven and parchment. Check out the video online, Mark Bittman and Lahey making no-kneed bread to see how the dough is handled.

I used my rye/bf starter, 100% hydration. Some comments talk about a 500F temperature which must be from an old version of the recipe. My initial rise ran to 14 hours. Everything else was in line with a 450F bake temp covered for 30 mins and 20 minutes uncovered at same temp. I used my smaller 5 quart Lodge cast iron Dutch oven and parchment. Check out the video online, Mark Bittman and Lahey making no-kneed bread to see how the dough is handled.

My final rise time was 2 hrs 55 minutes, and it came out great!

I followed the recipe exactly and the bread came out too dense. I would use less flour in the future.

I haven’t done this sourdough recipe but do make no knead. After mixing and putting in fridge, I stretch and fold into two 3 quart pots with parchment on bottom and let them rest 45 minutes.They are put in oven on preheated sheet pan. I pour ice cubes immediately into pan below for steam.Works way better trying to transfer dough by lifting dough on parchment to pot.I get the same crispy crunchy crust and it’s way easier.

Much simpler baking method adapted from KAF: Rise 3 hours, kneading just a little every hour (I.e., 10 seconds with a bread hook). Refrigerate overnight or longer (8-36 hrs). Shape into a ball and place in cold, parchmented, Dutch oven for 3 hours. During the last hour, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cut ears, place covered, cold Dutch oven in into oven, reduce temp to 450 and bake covered 40 min. Uncover and bake another 10 min. Remove from oven, cool on rack.

I think that a lot of folks have been led astray complaining about the "gloopy mess" of dough that can result. If you have made no-knead bread of any sort, you will know that the gloopy mess is exactly what you're aiming for. Yes, it's hard to handle, but the results speak for themselves. If you follow the recipe as written now, the bread will dry out in a day. If you follow the original recipe, using only 420g of flour and 300g H20, you won't be disappointed. I've done both.

When adding water, use clean bottled water as tap water contains chlorine and other chemicals that can easily kill or affect the bacteria in the starter.

A great way to transfer the carefully risen dough to the 500 degree Dutch oven without burning yourself or brutalizing the delicate dough is to first place the boule on a Silpat dusted with a mixture of rice and wheat flours. Slash the boule with the lame while it's on the Silpat, and then gently slide it from the Silpat into the hot Dutch oven.

Why the insistence on an 'enamel' dutch oven? I've been baking the Lahey bread (not sour-dough) for years in un-enameled dutch ovens, with never a hint of a problem. Is there something about sourdough that requires the enamel?