Since mid-February, my husband has been fasting twice a week. Bob is very disciplined; I am not. I am, however, happy to bake a special bread to help sustain him while he is skipping meals. "Fasting Bread" is whole wheat dough fortified with dried fruit, toasted nuts, oatmeal, olive oil and maple syrup. Bob forwarded me a recipe from Catholic Cuisine. I knew that I wanted to adjust it to bake it using the "no knead" method.
I have tried a few different no-knead recipes, but my favorite is Michael Ruhlman's NO-KNEAD BREAD. I've made this delicious bread countless times by following his clear directions. It's very simple: you mix flour, salt, a bit of yeast and water to make a dough, then let it rise for a long time (14 to 20 hours). Once the dough has been shaped, it rises a second time, then is baked in a preheated pot in a very hot oven. My family is usually more excited about the bread than whatever I have made to accompany it.
Bob never complains about anything I cook. Over the past several weeks, he's been happy to eat all of my mistakes, toasted and slathered with Irish Butter, no matter how bad they were. He's sampled:
- Dense, doughy bread. After consulting Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day, I learned that whole wheat flour requires more liquid than white to achieve the right hydration.
- A slightly funky tasting loaf. I added the oatmeal, cranberries and nuts with the first long rise and I think they may have started to ferment. Now, I add them after the initial rise.
- Bread with mushy, bland nuts (nuts added with the first rise)
- Bread that stuck to the pan. When I make a white loaf of no-knead bread, I add the dough directly to the preheated pot. After it is baked, the bread pops right out. I tried that technique with the whole wheat bread several times but the dough usually fused to the pot. A few loaves eventually fell out when I left the pot turned upside down to cool. Most ripped when I tried to pry them out. It wasn’t pretty. To prevent it from sticking, I drop the parchment paper into the pot with the dough.
I made small changes to the recipe each week until I had a beautiful loaf of crusty bread with a good crumb. Each slice is studded with plump cranberries, almonds and walnuts. The oatmeal melts into the bread. Good Friday is next week and I'll be baking up another loaf of No-Knead Fasting Bread for the whole family. The full recipe (without pictures) is at the end of the post.
No Knead Fasting Bread
I use a scale to weigh flour but I included the measurements in cups as well.
- 2 cups bread flour (250 grams)
- 2 cupswhole wheat flour (250 grams)
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- Water
- ½ cup oatmeal
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup toasted nuts, chopped
Mix all both flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
Add oil and maple syrup to a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Fill with water to 2 cups. Add water to dry ingredients and mix to moisten. Make sure all flour is incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then with a kitchen towel. Let it rise overnight, for at least 14 hours. After this rise, the dough should be covered with bubbles.
Coat a piece of parchment with flour. Pour dough onto parchment, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. While the dough is resting, mix cranberries and oatmeal. Pour ¾ cup boiling water over mixture.
After 15 minutes, use the plastic wrap to pat the dough into a large rectangle, about 12inches by 12inches. Make sure you have enough flour on the parchment so that the dough will not stick.
Drain excess water from oats/cranberries. Sprinkle mixture over dough. Sprinkle with nuts. Press cranberries, oatmeal and nuts into dough.
Roll dough up (like a jelly roll).
Tuck ends under to form a round loaf. Sprinkle top of loaf with flour. Cover with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel. Let rise for 2 ½ hours.
After 90 minutes, place a 4 quart oven safe pot in the center of your oven. Prop the lid against the pot. Turn the oven on to 500 and let the pot preheat while the bread finishes rising.
When the bread is done rising, slash the top of the dough 3-4 times with a sharp knife.
Pick up the corners of the parchment, and drop the dough, parchment and all, paper side down into the hot pot. Put the lid on the pot. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid. Bake for another 20 minutes.
Take the pot out of the oven and carefully dump the bread onto a cooling rack. Turn the loaf upright and peel off the parchment. Let cool for at least one hour before slicing.
No Knead Fasting Bread
I use a scale to weigh flour but I included the measurements in cups as well.
- 2 cups bread flour (250 grams)
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (250 grams)
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- Water
- ½ cup oatmeal
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup toasted nuts, chopped
Mix all both flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
Add oil and maple syrup to a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Fill with water to 2 cups. Add water to dry ingredients and mix to moisten. Make sure all flour is incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then with a kitchen towel. Let it rise overnight (at least 14 hours).
After the long rise, the dough should be covered with bubbles. Coat a piece of parchment with flour. Pour dough onto parchment, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
While the dough is resting, mix cranberries and oatmeal. Pour ¾ cup boiling water over mixture.
After 15 minutes, use the plastic wrap to pat the dough into a large rectangle, about 12inches by 12inches. Drain excess water from oats/cranberries. Sprinkle mixture over dough. Sprinkle with nuts. Press cranberries, oatmeal and nuts into dough. Roll dough up like a jelly roll. Tuck ends under to form a round loaf. Sprinkle top of loaf with flour. Cover with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel. Let rise for 2 ½ hours.
After 90 minutes, place a 4 quart oven safe pot in the center of your oven. Prop the lid against the pot. Turn the oven on to 500 and let the pot preheat while the bread finishes rising.
When the bread is done rising, slash the top of the dough 3-4 times with a sharp knife. Pick up the corners of the parchment, and drop the dough, parchment and all, paper side down into the hot pot. Put the lid on the pot. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove the lid. Cook for another 20 minutes. Take the pot out of the oven and carefully dump the bread onto a cooling rack. Turn the loaf upright and peel off the parchment. Let cool for at least one hour before slicing.