Not Quite No Knead bread (Updated with Video)

With updated instructions

It's been two and a half months since my original post. During this time I've kept mucking (enhancing) with the recipe (my Chemistry/Software/Engineering background - don't know when it's good enough to stop) The core instructions are still from SeriousEats' Kenji; the interpretations are updated. Here's the final product (look! it has horns!)

Original instructions

During this quarantine time, I found this to be a soul satisfying undertaking. Fun with chemistry!😉

You will need: bread flour (preferable), salt, water. For the starter, you can use a mixture of different flours. I found that raw rye flour gives the best rise, it also darkens the bread a little. I’ve been staying with unbleached bread flour to continue feeding the starter.

It takes patience; start with growing the sourdough starter, using the instructions from SeriousEats. https://slice.seriouseats.com/2010/11/how-to-make-sourdough-starter-day-0.html

Starter is ready after close to 7 days, when it has lots of bubbles at the top and on the side.

Comments:         Make sure the starter in the container is not concave, (center is lower than side) - that means the microbes in the starter has depleted their food. Feed it some more before using it.

Use a scale, weigh out:
              100 gm  starter
                50  gm flour
                25   gm water

              

- OR - if you prefer English:

                4 oz starter (consistency like cake batter)

                2 oz bread flour
                1 oz water

NOTE: the metric measures give a total weight of 175 gm autolysed flour, which is a hair less than the 180 gm that the recipe calls for, but will suffice. The English measures give a total weight of 7 oz, or 198 gm autolysed flour, which is slightly more than the 180 gm called for, so adjust accordingly.

Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for 6  hours to overnight to autolyse.

When ready, it does not need to be doubled. It is now half the volume as shown in photo from my previous post.

After autolyse (in 28 oz bowl)

Mix together:  

                                435 grams bread flour,

                                6 grams salt

                                      Stir so the salt isn’t sitting at one spot,

                                180 grams autolysed starter from previous step

                                300 grams water

Stir well. Dough will be wet. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. 

Dough mixed, and before stretch and fold

Stretch and fold about 12 times, or until the dough is smoother (doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth and silky). Instead of using my hand, I have been using the spatula, but the technique is the same. Try not to add more flour. More flour = small holes in the final product.

Move the dough into a bigger bowl  for it to rise.

After stretch and fold (in 95 oz bowl)

Cover loosely and stick it in the fridge for 3 days per Kenji.

Remove it from the fridge. Let it rest 5-10 minutes or immediately if you can handle the cold dough.

Jelly Rolling shows how to generate good surface tension to avoid pancake bread. I believe the cold dough prevents it from getting sticky. If you repeat the jelly-rolling, it gets stickier, either because the dough has warmed up, but more probably because the gluten structure of the dough is affected adversely. By about the third time, it gets way too sticky (ask me how I know that!) By doing the jelly roll just once,it leads to large holes in the bread. See Wild Crumb vs Even Crumb by Joy Ride Coffee on Youtube.

Load the dough into the boule. Cover loosely and stick it into the fridge overnight. The loose covering dries out the dough a bit and also allows for cleaner slashing before baking.

 When ready to bake, put a cast iron pot with top or Dutch oven in the oven and set the oven temperature to 450 to 475 degrees F.  Allow it to heat for 20-30 minutes after oven temperature is reached.  (Note: I forgot to load the pot into the oven while preheating, and remedied that by heating the pot and lid(if possible) on the stove top to get it up to temperature)

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. It will have risen about 30%, i.e. not doubled in volume. It is easier to score because it has dried up a bit in the fridge. Score at an angle of 30 degrees and about 1/2 inch deep to  generate "horns" after baking. Score the dough assertively. Because it looked dry when scoring I spritzed it with water (about 12 inches above and across the scored dough, not directly onto the dough itself), don't know if it is necessary, but it didn't hurt the final product.

Lift the parchment paper carefully to remove the dough from the boule, and put it into the (screaming hot!) cast iron pot cover. If you're using a Dutch oven, put it into the pot itself. Handle it gently (and don't burn yourself) so as not to deflate the loaf.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is very dark.

When 25-30 minutes are up, turn off oven.  Let the bread cool before cutting.

Look at them holes!

Original

Allow it to cool if you can restrain yourself. Crust should be crackly. The perfect loaf should have larger holes in the center, smaller around the sides, and “horns” where the top has been scored. I haven’t achieved the holes and the horns yet – still trying  GOT IT!!   See perfect loaf as described in SeriousEats.

Comment: If you want to keep the starter going, add 100 grams flour and 100 grams water, stir and let it sit at room temperature to start over again. Otherwise cover and put it in the fridge, it will keep until you take it out, and feed it for the next loaf.

After a while your starter jar will be overflowing if you didn’t discard part of the starter. Pour out all but ½ cup of the starter and start building it up again (100 grams flour, 100 grams water). For the discard, I pour it into an oiled pan, and fry it up to make a savory pancake, adding green onions, salt, pepper and whatever herbs available at hand.

Comment: I have been doing a lot of research re:sourdough and its chemistry. Interesting references below.

1. Sourdough Postmortem:

   https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/troubleshoot-bad-bread-messed-up-loaf.html

2. Talk about mistakes to avoid:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJEHsvW2J6M

3. Kenji Lopez’s regular (not sourdough) bread recipe that I got ideas from:

   https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/06/better-no-knead-bread-recipe.html

4. Discussion on Surface Tension:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww78_SfGyQE

5. Netflix

   The Chef Show, Episode 2 (I think) where Jon Favreau baked a sourdough bread

BBQ Pork (义焼)

I haven't made BBQ Pork at home for 40 years because of the easy access to good quality BBQ stores in the city. I used to make it in the 70's with my mom's recipe before the immigration wave from Hong Kong in the 80's brought along with it Hong Kong quality barbeque meats. Now with COVID19, it seems the right time to revive an old recipe with the addition of some ready made sauces.  The ready made sauces are optional, especially for those of you not living in areas with easy access to Chinese grocery stores.  It can taste just as good without them - the key is the type of pork you purchase.

I use "lean" pork butt. The pork butt cut is in itself marbled so just pick the leanest piece you can find. Some people like their BBQ pork with a bit more fat, in which case, pick a fattier piece.  But even the leanest piece of pork butt would have sufficient fat in it to give it just the right texture.

Cut the butt piece lengthwise into strips no more than 2 inches in diameter. Rub the pieces with minced garlic. Create a marinade using 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp rose cooking wine, 1 tbsp mustard and 1 tbsp corn starch (this is for about 2 pounds of meat).  The corn starch is to make the sauce thicker so it will stick to the meat.  Now if you have access to a Chinese grocery, you can add a couple of tablespoons of BBQ Pork sauce and Hoisin suace to enhance the flavour.  You will notice that these sauces have been thickened also so that they can stick to the meat. I prefer less sugar in my meats but if you like your meat sweeter, the original recipe called for 3 tbsp sugar, adjust the amount according to your taste; use brown sugar if possible. Marinade overnight in the fridge.

When ready to cook, brush with honey.  Put on a rack in the baking tray and bake at 300 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes depending on the size of your pieces. Brush with sesame oil when done. Cut into slices for serving. I cooked mine in a steamer oven using the Bake Steam option, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The steaming kept the meat moist and the baking browned it nicely. This can also be cooked on the barbeque grill on moderate heat. If you've added sugar, watch out in case it burns. 

The cooked bbq pork (unsliced) freezes well. Leftovers are great for lunch!

Ginger Honey Chicken

I love ginger and use it in practically all my recipes. This is a particular favourite because I can put in as much ginger as I like.  The honey is to balance out the flavour.  It is easy and quick and only one pot to wash up at the end.

I used bone in chicken thighs with skin on but skinless and boneless should be fine, just reduce the cooking time by at least 5 - 10 minutes depending on amount.  Marinate 6 chicken thighs for a few hours with cooking wine, soy or Maggi sauce, fresh ground pepper and dash of balsamic vinegar.  Just before cooking, thinly coat with corn starch.  Slice a chunk of fresh organic ginger into slivers (at least 1 tablespoon or more if you prefer a stronger ginger taste).  Have ready ginger powder, cumin powder, and 1 tablespoon honey - note that ginger powder does not replace fresh ginger as it tastes completely different.

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium high, add ginger, then brown chicken on both sides. By the time chicken is brown, some of the chicken oil would have come out onto the pan.  Drain off oil.  Return to heat, add marinade, enough chicken stock or water to half cover the chicken pieces, add ginger powder and cumin (sprinkle to taste), add honey to the sauce, cover and turn heat down to a simmer.  Flip chicken pieces after 5 minutes and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.  Check to see if chicken is done after about 20 - 25 minutes from the start of cooking (it varies with the size of the chicken thighs).

When chicken is done, remove from skillet.  Turn up heat to reduce sauce if it is too watery.  The thickness of the sauce is key to keeping the chicken pieces coated for flavour.  Flavour intensifies in leftovers!

Chicken in red wine (Instant Pot or Le Creuset)

Isolation has allowed me more time to revive some timeless recipes in new formats.  This has always been my favourite dish both as a child when my mom or dad were cooking (yes, they both cooked!), when I had a family of five to feed, or now, when I am cooking for myself.

As in the curried chicken, I used air-chilled skinless, boneless, chicken thighs (8 pieces) but bone-in chicken parts would do just as well although I've found that because of the different textures and thickness of the different parts, cooking may be uneven. For example, the breast may get overcooked while the thigh was just right.  So I've found it easiest to stick to chicken thighs which is not as easy to overcook.

The other key ingredient for flavour is dried shitake mushrooms. Fresh shitake doesn't have the same intense flavour as the dried so I wouldn't substitute - I'll cook another dish if I don't have dried shitake at home.  Red wine of course is needed and if you believe the star chefs, you only put the best in (if you can afford to). I just use what I have handy and it was never an issue.  Two onions each cut into 8 pieces.

Remove the stems from the dried shitake and soak thoroughly, overnight or for about 5 hours. Remove from water, dry, marinate with pepper, sprinkle of sugar and sesame oil.  
Cut the chicken thighs into two inch pieces, marinate for a few hours with cooking wine, soy sauce or Maggi sauce, and fresh ground pepper. When ready to cook, add corn starch and mix thoroughly.  In a non-stick pan over medium high heat, brown the chicken on both sides with a few slices of ginger.  Add a cup or more of red wine and some soy sauce to taste when the chicken is browned.

Meanwhile, in the Instant Pot or Le Creuset pot, sauté the onions and the shitake mushrooms.  When slightly browned, add the browned chicken with the red wine.  
For the Instant Pot, turn off sauté, put the lid on, seal, and turn on high pressure cook for 10 minutes. Quick release at the end of the 10 minutes. If the sauce is not thick enough, remove the chicken to prevent overcooking, turn off pressure cook and sauté until it is thick and able to coat the chicken.  This is important because this sauce coating is essential to the flavour of the dish.  If it is too watery, it won't work.
For the Le Creuset pot, put the lid on and stick in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven. Sauce is usually just right, if not, reduce on the stovetop after removing the chicken so as not to overcook.  The sauce should be just thick enough to coat the chicken. This is essential to the flavour of the dish. If it is too watery, it won't work.

Serve with rice.  Also flavour intensifies overnight. Leftover sauce is also super good on ramen or other white noodles.