oh, well, never mind. I scraped it off the parchment and kneaded in some more flour. It was still quite sticky and won't hold the shape of a ball. But I'm going to bake it up in a couple of hours and see how it tastes.

I'm interested to hear how it comes out. Let us know.

Funny, I'm trying my first loaf now, too, with Jim Lahey's recipe which calls for 3 C bread flour. I am planning on using a Sassafras covered baker with a friend's instructions after the rise is completed, though. Good luck! Do keep us posted.

It is in the oven now. In a few minutes, I'll have to remove the lid and let it cook a little longer.

Does Jim Lahey's call for beer? I read various recipes and comments. Someone thought the beer added to the flavor of the bread. It is only 3 ounces. I have frozen the remainder of the can (poured into a Ziplock bag). If this works, I can use the frozen beer in the next batch!

I'm baking it in my Lodge enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. When I transferred the bread from the skillet to the Dutch oven, the parchment folded into the soft dough. Wonder if I will have to cut it out of the loaf?

Will post more after it is cooked, cooled, and tasted.

Good luck to my fellow bread bakers!

No, Jim's recipe is just flour, water, salt, and yeast, at least for the basic loaf. The beer recipe...this is the one that was on America's Test Kitchen, right?

Breadtopia has a two part video on the CI Almost No Knead recipe. You'll get a good idea of how soft the dough needs to be.

I've made the recipe several times. One of our favorites. I use only about 1/2 t. salt (or less) and it turns out great. Also, have made it w/ AP and bread flour & sometimes a combination of the two.

The dough is quite soft but I wouldn't say it's nearly batter so I think you did the right thing by kneading in a bit more flour.

Here is a link that might be useful: Breadtopia

ci, thanks for the video link. My dough did not look like that at all. Mine was far looser than the dough in the video. And my loaf did not rise nearly as much, either. Instead of looking like a bowl, mine more nearly resembled an upside down plate.

I'm beginning to wonder if the difference is a kitchen scale. I do not have a scale, so my measurements were all done with measuring cups.

The crust is very tough...definitely too tough for a sandwich. However, the flavor is pretty good. The crumb is pretty large. I'm still not sure if I am going to serve it to my guests tonight, even if they are family.

Boy it's really amazing to watch that guy on Breadtopia with all his cool kitchen gear! And it all works too!

My dough just went into the oven. After taking it out of the bowl (yes, it came out in one piece and was stretchy), I folded it a couple of times, shaped it, and put it in the oil-sprayed baker. I went off running errands for few hours, and it had risen again, so I put slices on the top and put it in the cold oven, then set the temp @ 450F for 50 min. We'll see what happens. Ah, the anticipation!

kelpmermaid, how did it turn out? I opted not to serve mine last night. It just wasn't right. I may give it another shot if/when I buy a kitchen scale. It certainly is no trouble.

bbstx -- I would strongly recommend using a kitchen scale. There's nothing wrong with measuring cups, but I think that unless you make a lot of bread, you won't have the 'feel' for that way of measuring. I've been making no-knead bread for over a year and I always use a scale with excellent results. Don't give up - just give it another go.

Jim Lahey's original recipe doesn't call for beer, but his cookbook has one that does. I've substituted a bottle of beer for an equal amount of water in several different recipes and it does give it good flavor. Gets better with age (don't we all!)

gwt, thanks for the words of encouragement! I'm not going to give up, but I think I'll hold off trying again until I get a scale. DH is chowing down on the "loaf" regardless that it didn't rise as it should have!

bbstx -- I've found that my 'failures' always make great toast! Or, I've split the loaf, brushed with some olive oil and added some favorite toppings and run it under the broiler for an easy foccacia.

I was not impressed with the No-Knead bread. I thought it didn't have much taste. I bought the book after reading a review raving about it in a newspaper cooking section. Wish I hadn't.

I thought I responded, but I don't see the post. Anyway, it was soooo gooood! I'll do this again for sure!

bbstx, don't give up. I did make the no-knead bread (twice, in fact) and just wasn't impressed with flavor or texture, so I went back to traditional bread, but a lot of people love it. I never tried it with beer, that might make a difference in flavor.

I don't use a scale for anything, I learned to bake bread by "feel". Even in the bread machine, I'll measure ingredients according to the recipe and then check the dough. Sometimes it needs more flour, sometimes more liquid, depending on the flour, the humidity, many factors. I just made breadsticks last night from a King Arthur recipe which is usually pretty much "right on" and had to add nearly 1/2 cup of water because it was too crumbly. I'm blaming the Gold Medal bread flour I'm stuck with for that.

That said, a lot of people use a scale and like that method. I'd still have to check the dough to see if it was "right", LOL, so it would do me no good to weigh the stuff, but if you think that will work for you and you have space to store the thing, I've seen some that weren't too expensive.

Annie

bbstx,

Watch the video linked below, paying special attention to how Jim Lahey handles the dough. The dough is very wet and soft, as you can see when he dumps it. When he folds the dough to form the loaf he uses a very light touch and minimal handling. Watch that sequence several times. He even mentions that he is doing it that way "for the sake of the home baker".

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Making No-Knead Bread