Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-free, No-knead Breads

I seriously underestimated this book at first, and I was not enthused when my wife purchased it. I typically bake most of the bread for our family, but I was going through a very busy time. She knows fully well how to knead bread by hand, and she also has a quality stand mixer—so I didn’t understand why she had selected a no-knead book when we had many other bread books already in the house. When I initially browsed through this book, I was also somewhat turned off by the pictures because they were paler in appearance than I would have expected. Furthermore, the texture of the breads was not entirely to my liking either. I handed her back the book with a raised eyebrow and came up with something diplomatic to say.Subsequently, my wife baked her way through a number of recipes in the first part of the book, and what really surprised me was the flavor. The first really big success was the Easy Oat Bread (p. 39). My wife calls it “Mona Lisa Bread” because she says that it’s perfect! I’ve uploaded a picture of two square loaves sprinkled with rolled oats on top that she baked in lidded Pullman pans. I have to admit that this oat bread far exceeded my initial expectations.The next really big success was the Pull-Apart Butter-Top Rolls (p. 63). There’s a picture of them in the book that doesn’t look like much, but they taste absolutely phenomenal! There was one Thanksgiving when I was still unable to bake from being too busy caring for a family member, and I surprised even myself when I asked my wife to bake these rolls for our holiday meal with extended family. I suppose that I am somewhat of a bread snob, given that I’ve reviewed a lot more advanced baking books than this one on Amazon. Honestly, had I seen this book in a local bookstore, I would not have given it any notice because no-knead is just not my thing—but some of these recipes turn out great tasting bread!I got involved in baking from this book because one day my wife refused to make these rolls when I requested them. My wife felt that they were very difficult to handle from the dough being so wet, and she lost interest in making the recipe, despite the fact that she admires their taste. The author said on p. 199 that usually her dough is “slightly stiff,” but these rolls are an exception in being more “batter-like.” I said to my wife that if she wasn’t going to make them, then I’d take it from there, because I was planning on having some more!There’s a book by the same publisher of this book (Wiley) that explains everything you would need to know how to modify these recipes, if you feel there is sufficient cause. It’s called “Bread Baking: An Artisan’s Perspective” by Daniel T. DiMuzio. First, I figured out the baker’s percentages for all of the ingredients, and then I adjusted the water level to be lower/less; then, I used a mixing technique with a stand mixer called a “short mix” that results in better overall dough strength but does not change the characteristics too much from the original intent. I’ve uploaded a picture of the plump rolls having risen in a Le Creuset baker just before loading the oven, and then there’s another picture of the finished product. Someone else has already uploaded a picture of the original intent of these rolls that was published in the book, so you can draw your own conclusions between them. I was extremely pleased with the results from a technical standpoint, and the rolls tasted as wonderful as I had remembered!There’s another recipe called Cinnamon Pinwheel Raisin Bread (p. 66) for which I have uploaded a picture of. The flavor is stellar, and I love this recipe! It’s based on the same wet dough as the rolls, to which I made similar adjustments. There’s also a picture of this bread that was published in the book that someone else has uploaded, so you can compare the two to get a sense of how using a stand mixer changes the crumb’s texture to some extent.Easy Buttermilk Pot Bread with Coarse Salt (p. 79) is another home run, and my wife has requested several times that I make it for her. One of the criticisms found in a couple other reviews are that the pot breads in this book have crust that is too thick. If you have wet dough that can be stirred in no-knead fashion, it will have to use relatively more water. When it comes time to bake off this extra water, it will result in a somewhat thicker crust because crust thickness is influenced by bake time. I don’t want to give you the sense that every recipe in this book needs adjusting, because my wife made quite a few of them as published, but I do think there are some circumstances when it is appropriate to consider some adjustments, which is why I’m giving you some examples. Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise you that I made some similar modifications to this recipe, and I’ve uploaded a picture for your viewing pleasure. I really enjoy thick slices of this bread!Question: There has been criticism that these recipe instructions take too long from start to finish.Answer: When I get really busy, I like how these instructions work with my schedule. You can do a little work spread out over a couple day time frame, and the end result is great bread coming out of the oven. What’s even better is that the instructions are so flexible that you can adjust it to your specific schedule. I don’t agree with that criticism at all.Back in 1977, Elizabeth David wrote: “the longer fermentation times given to the dough result in bread with better flavour and texture, a vastly improved crust and a loaf which will stay fresh and moist….Without a certain amount of natural acidity bread, like wine, is insipid.” (“English Bread and Yeast Cookery,” p. 110). The artisan movement that has gained momentum in the time since originally began with improving the acidity of bread through fermentation techniques, but the second stage to the movement came later with greater understanding of enzyme action. Baggett’s recipes use an effective artisan technique for developing outstanding flavor. “Known as ‘delayed first fermentation,’ this recently introduced technique is beginning to catch on with professional bakers, and, fortunately, it’s an effortless way for home bakers to improve their bread, too. Peter Reinhart, who learned the basic method from a French baker and discussed it in his award-winning 2001 work, ‘The Bread Baker’s Apprentice,’ commented that it had tremendous implications for both professional and home bakers: he was absolutely right!”Baggett writes: “My hope is that ‘Kneadlessly Simple’ will entice casual home bakers who lack the time or inclination for such a serious commitment to join today’s vibrant bread baking community” (p. xiii). I believe that she has done an admirable job of that. My wife frequently comments that the Easy Oat Bread and Pull-Apart Butter-Top Rolls are worth the price of the book alone. We’ve made about ten different recipes found herein, and it’s been a really worthwhile journey so far. I’m looking forward to my next bake from this book!

I've been baking bread for 30 years, and have bought numerous books on the art of bread baking, from the post-hippie Tassajara and Laurel's bread books, to the standard tomes from Beard, Clayton, Hensberger, to the more recent "artisan"-inspired books from bakers such as Reinhart, Bertinet, and Berenbaum. More recently I have explored the no-knead breads of Lahey's NY Times recipe and those of "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes." As my life has become busier and I have less time to bake bread, I've mostly had to leave off creating loaves in the traditional method of kneading and baby-sitting multiple rises. In the past few years, in an attempt to keep homemade bread on my table regularly, I have relied on the bread machine to knead and rise (but not bake) my loaves, and this has been a great solution. But I feel as though it all has been leading to Nancy Baggett's new book on no-knead bread. Now, having homemade bread everyday is no longer a struggle. The ease of her method -- just a few minutes the night before making the bread, and rarely even any shaping of the loaves -- means even my busiest workweek can accommodate making a delicious loaf.While I enjoyed the idea of "Artisan Breads in Five Minutes" and can recommend that book with some caveats, the method resulted in having a great deal of dough in my fridge and that didn't really work for my small family of two. Also, I found that if I made a "normal" size loaf the results would often be somewhat gummy. And the smallish loaves that book produces were just not enough to last the workweek or to serve at a dinner of friends. Baggett's method suits my needs much better, producing generous loaves with no gumminess or heaviness. Her book also offers an amazing variety of breads, from artisan to old-fashioned white loaves to dessert breads. I have made about a dozen of the recipes, and not a single one has failed or been less than delicious, which is no surprise, as I found Baggett's recipes from her  The All-American Dessert Book  and  The All-American Cookie Book  have also yielded consistently delicious results. I love the County Fair White Bread, the Everyday Oatmeal Bread, and the Buttermilk Pot Bread, and my current favorite in the book is the English Muffin Bread, which makes the most amazing crunchy toast and grilled sandwiches. I'm looking forward to trying the sticky buns and the various rye breads next.An added bonus, and the thing that really clinches the deal and makes this a 5-star book, is the final section in which Baggett offers tips on converting any favorite bread recipe into one using her method. I tried converting my favorite Peter Reinhart pizza dough using her method, and the result was amazing. Now I can more easily bake up any of my favorite bread recipes!The only slight flaw I've encountered is that one aspect of the author's method requires adding enough flour to make a stiff dough after the initial long rise. Initially, I was unsure of the consistency Baggett was describing; so stiff I couldn't stir it?, or just stiff enough that it isn't batterlike? And the instructions to "pour" the dough into the pan seemed to add to the confusion, as often the dough seemed too stiff to pour out of the bowl by itself. Since enough flour is needed to avoid a heavy, gummy loaf, this step is crucial, therefore this aspect was a cause for concern. But after making a number of loaves I think I've hit upon the right consistency. Anyway, whether I was doing it right or not, the loaves still turned out uniformly excellent. Perhaps the author has made a demonstration video that's out there somewhere that illustrates the right consistency of the dough. That's all it would take.Overall, I can highly recommend "Kneadlessly Simple" for bread bakers of all kinds -- from the novice to the expert -- and for bread lovers like me who love to bake and have a great loaf always on hand but who have little time to spare.

I had tried unsuccessfullly in the past to bake bread that was edible and not relegated to being a door stop or a weapon. With this book every recipie I have tried has been faultless and produces bread that the whole family can enjoy. Each recipe does have the flexibility of being tweaked a little, I often add a llittle whole wheat with flax for enriched flavour

I gave a copy to a friend who loves making his own bread. The explaination about yeast being alive and needing food and a room temperature invironment to grow in, threw his old-school theories about yeast out the window. his wife does enjoy the 'kneadless' part of the recipes and getting to the baking faster, thus being able to spend more time raising their daughter.

Looking forward to trying the recipes. The look pretty simple.

The best ever bread book. If you have arthritis in your hands it's a must. No kneading and the bread comes out just the same as if you'd spent hours doing it by hand. Because it's slow rise I don't get any tummy bloating either. A real eye opener.

I do a lot of bread making but I didn't find much to shout about in this book