Honestly I think the 'no knead' method is overrated for beginners

Tried a no knead loaf last week from that famous NYT recipe and it came out flat and dense. Everyone in this community swears by it as the easiest start, but I learned my cheap apartment is too cold for proper bulk fermentation. A 10 minute knead session gave me way better oven spring and crumb. Has anyone else found that active kneading works better in a cool kitchen?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia_hayes5d ago

My cold kitchen turns me into a sad little dough gnome every time!

finleyfox5d ago

Blast your oven for 5 minutes with the door open before you stick the dough in. I live in a basement that barely cracks 60 degrees in winter and my no knead loaves come out perfect every time. The trick is to find a warm spot for the bowl top of the fridge, near the water heater, even the microwave after you heat up a cup of water inside. A ten minute knead might give you a better crumb in a cold room but you're also building way more gluten tension that can make the dough tough if you aren't careful. The whole point of no knead is that time does the work for you, and if your apartment is cold you just need to give it more time not less work.