Vent: I tried to follow a 'no knead' sourdough recipe for a month and it was a disaster

I saw a trend for these super simple, hands-off sourdough recipes that promised perfect loaves with zero work. My old method involved a solid 15 minutes of kneading and careful folds. After four dense, gummy bricks in a row from the 'no knead' method, I went back to my old way last weekend. The difference was a crust that actually cracked and an open crumb you could see through. Is this whole 'no work' bread thing just a fad for people who don't actually want to bake?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_burns731d agoMost Upvoted

Works fine for me, @phoenix_martin40, just takes way longer.

grantw411d ago

My buddy had the same thing happen with those recipes. His bread turned out like a doorstop until he went back to some old school kneading.

phoenix_martin401d agoMost Upvoted

My last loaf was so dense you could have used it for self defense. I get what grantw41 is saying, that old school hands on kneading makes a real difference. Those no knead recipes can trick you into thinking it's easy, but the dough never gets the right feel. You have to get in there and work it until it changes. It's the only way to build up the gluten structure properly for a light crumb. Otherwise you're just baking flour paste.