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More Pics of Simple Crusty Bread

Because who can get enough pictures of bread? And I’m not talking about the soft rock band from the seventies.

In my previous post on Simple Crusty Bread, I baked the bread without putting water at the bottom of the oven to generate steam. The steam trapped in the oven has the effect (paradoxically) of creating a hard, dry crust on the bread, which is what I tried below, and it really works! For more info on steam and rustic bread, look here.

Fourth try. Steam in oven. Very crusty. Sliced. Consumed with Camembert.

Crusty Bread with Cat

Third try. Also steamed. Also very crusty.

Filed Under: General, Cooking Posted: 11.24.07

Simple Crusty Bread from the New York Times

So I’ve been baking a cool No-Knead Bread recipe that makes amazing peasant like crusty bread for a year now after it appeared on the New York Times website last year.

As great as the results are, it’s not very convenient time wise in that it has to rise overnight and then rise again for 2-4 hours after being formed. That doesn’t leave much hope for baking it in the morning before work unless you get up at 5am. So for all you early risers, that’s the recipe for you. It also uses very little yeast which means it doesn’t always work so well, especially if it’s a little cold in your home.

Yesterday they posted a new recipe for Simple Crusty Bread that’s even simpler so I tried it and the results were amazing. I didn’t have time to take a picture before we all consumed it so I’ll make another loaf today so I can post it.

I found that I needed to bake my bread a little longer than the recipe called for, 40 minutes instead of 30 minutes, so I covered it with foil during the last 10 minutes to avoid burning the crust — although a little burnt crust is not all bad. This is a great recipe for storing dough in your fridge for several weeks, and the extra yeast used ensures that the dough will rise. Here are some pictures: