If you want to be the kind of mum that bakes her own breads and pizza doughs, it’s much simpler now than it was for our Grandmas – and you don’t need to dust off your bread machine and crank out impossibly sized square loaves either.
Jim Lahey was a genius – a revolutionary – right up there with Edison and Bell, and Arthur Fry (who invented the Post-It – why didn’t I think of that?) and Ruth Wakefield (who invented the chocolate chip cookie). He’s the guy who figured out how to make a glorious, crusty loaf of bread without kneading by mixing up a wet dough and leaving it on the countertop overnight, giving the gluten molecules a chance to align themselves in much the same way kneading does. Of course, it could be that someone has done this before him (and I do recall making a similar dill bread in a casserole dish back in the ‘80s, but it was nowhere as good) but he brought it to the masses, and came up with the method of baking it in a heavy heated pot, which traps the steam and creates an ideal crust without need for a steam-injected oven. Word on the ‘net is that his bread recipe was the most emailed story at the New York Times a few Novembers ago.
Since then, a lot of people have run with the concept - there are no-knead bread cookbooks, and no-knead bread mixes, if you can believe that (then again, it’s no sillier than pancake mix, which is what: flour, baking powder and salt?) and I’ve heard reports that it makes a decent bun and baguette as well, although I’m not sure how that works with baking it in a pot.
Guess what? Turns out you can make pizza dough using the same technique.
Google no-knead bread (or visit dinnerwithjulie.com and search for it) and give it a try – you’ll have a constant supply of bread and pizza dough that costs a tiny fraction of what you’d pay in a bakery. And if you want to be a superhero among moms, make stuffed-crust pizza: buy some mozzarella cheese sticks (or just the mozzarella, and cut it into sticks yourself) and run it around the edge of your pizza dough, then roll the edge over the cheese and pinch it to seal. As it bakes, the cheese will melt, and everyone will think you’re a genius. Not only that, your kitchen won’t be all floury from your wonderfully chewy homemade dough because you didn’t bother to knead it.
No-Knead Pizza Dough
Thanks for the no-knead bread to Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan.
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (or use whole-wheat, or half and half)
• 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (instant or regular)
• 1 tsp. salt
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and let it rest on the countertop for 18 to 24 hours at room temperature.
After that time, the surface of the dough will be dotted with bubbles. Generously flour a work surface and scrape the mixture out into it, gently folding it over itself once or twice, then transfer to a heavy rimmed baking sheet that has been sprinkled with flour or cornmeal. Spread it out with your fingertips until it's a rough oval or rectangle (you may need to sprinkle the top with a little flour, too, to keep it from sticking to your fingers), set it aside while you get your toppings together and preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread the crust with tomato sauce, barbeque sauce, pesto or anything else you'd like to sauce it with, then top with your choice of toppings and grated cheese. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden.
Julie is a best-selling cookbook author, food writer, cooking instructor and the food and nutrition columnist on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio. She lives in Calgary with her husband and son, Wilem. Watch for her cooking show, It’s Just Food, with co-host Ned Bell on Access TV and CLT stations across Canada. For more information, visit www.dinnerwithjulie.com.
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