For physician Jeffrey Hertzberg and baker Zoe Francois, the journey to no-knead bread began innocently enough.
While their toddlers learned to play the xylophone in a Minneapolis music class, Hertzberg began telling Francois about his no-knead, 5-minute mix of flour, salt, yeast and water.
Made in large batches, the dough can be refrigerated for weeks and baked one loaf at a time by simply cutting off a piece, letting it rise, shaping and baking. Trained in traditional methods, Francois was skeptical, but she saw promise in the chemistry Hertzberg was selling: a wetter-than-average dough that was easier to handle and simple to work with.
This month, the duo is releasing their second book on no-knead bread, joined by tomes from two fellow bread pioneers.
Bread has followed a rocky path in American culture of late. Demonized during the low-carb craze of the 1990s, bread resurfaced as the darling of the artisanal movement. The desire to have those fancy and healthy loaves at home spawned interest in low- and no-knead bread baking methods.
Francois embraced Hertzberg’s method after checking it out herself.
“When I tried it, it really was revolutionary, and was mind boggling because it went against everything I had been taught,” she said. “Everybody had to know about this.”
This month, they release “Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day.” Two other no- or low-knead bread bakers also put out books in October: Jim Lahey with “My Bread” (W.W. Norton & Co.) and Peter Reinhart (who pledges ease more than outright no-knead) with “Artisan Breads Everyday” (Ten Speed Press).
Cheese Bread
q 3 cups bread flour
q 2 1/2 cups cubed (1/2-inch cubes) pecorino cheese
q 1 teaspoon salt
q 3/4 teaspoon instant or other active dry yeast
q 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
q 1 1/3 cups cool (55 to 65 degree) water
n Start to finish: 15 hours (30 minutes active)
n Makes one 10-inch round loaf
n Wheat bran, cornmeal or additional flour, for dusting
n In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cheese, salt, yeast and pepper. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds.
n Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.
n When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece.
n Using lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.
n Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran, cornmeal or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal or flour.
n Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
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