Breads

No-Knead Bread - NYT 2023

No-Knead Bread
Source of Recipe
New York Times Cooking, Recipe from Jim Lahey, Adapted by Mark Bittman
Serves/Makes/Yields
One 1½-pound loaf

Here is one of the most popular recipes The Times has ever published, courtesy of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery. It requires no kneading. It uses no special ingredients, equipment or techniques. And it takes very little effort — only time. You will need 24 hours to create the bread, but much of this is unattended waiting, a slow fermentation of the dough that results in a perfect loaf. (We've updated the recipe to reflect changes Mark Bittman made to the recipe in 2006 after publishing and receiving reader feedback.

Alexandra Stafford’s No-Knead Peasant Bread

Alexandra Stafford’s No-Knead Peasant Bread
Source of Recipe
Alexandra Stafford, Alexandra's Kitchen
Serves/Makes/Yields
two loaves

This is a sticky, no-knead dough, so, some sort of baking vessel, such as pyrex bowls (about 1-L or 1-qt) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to bake this bread. You can use a bowl that is about 2 qt or 2 L in size to bake off the whole batch of dough (versus splitting the dough in half) but do not use this size for baking half of the dough — it is too big.

 

Tomato-Olive Focaccia

Tomato-Olive Focaccia
Source of Recipe
Boston Globe, By Christopher Kimball Globe Correspondent, Updated January 26, 2021, 9:51 a.m.
Serves/Makes/Yields
Makes 12 servings

To achieve the texture we found in Bari, Italy, the dough must be wet — so wet, in fact, it verges on a thick yet pourable batter. Resist the temptation to add more flour. Shaping such a sticky, high-hydration dough by hand is impossible. Instead, the dough is gently poured and scraped into the oiled baking pan; gravity settles it into an even layer.

If you have trouble finding Castelvetrano olives, substitute any large, meaty green olive.

Italian Flatbread (Piadina)

Italian Flatbread (Piadina)
Source of Recipe
Boston Globe, By Christopher Kimball Globe Correspondent, Updated January 26, 2021, 9:51 a.m.
Serves/Makes/Yields
Makes four 10-inch flatbreads

One of our favorite variations of flatbread originated in Romagna, in northern Italy. There they throw together flour, salt, water or milk, and lard or olive oil to make a quick dough. After a short rest, the flatbread — a piadina — is cooked on a griddle or skillet. The cooked flatbreads then are stuffed with sweet or savory fillings and folded to make a sandwich.

Lahmajun (Armenian Flatbread)

Lahmajun (Armenian Flatbread)
Source of Recipe
Cook's Illustrated, Recipe developed for the September / October 2020 issue.
Serves/Makes/Yields
Serves 4 to 6

These thin, crispy, savory meat-and-vegetable-topped Armenian flatbreads can sprayed with lemon juice and eaten like pizza, or turned into sandwiches by rolling them around a salad of fresh or pickled vegetables. Our dough started with a higher-protein all-purpose flour to create an ample amount of gluten that gave the dough both crispness and tenderness but not so much that it turned tough.

Sesame Scallion Bread

Sesame Scallion Bread
Source of Recipe
Christopher Kimball, Boston Globe Correspondent, January 14, 2020
Serves/Makes/Yields
4

This bread, known as zhima dabing—which means big sesame pancake—is similar to Chinese scallion pancakes, but is much larger and thicker and has a lighter, fluffier crumb. If you’re unable to find sweet rice flour with the baking ingredients, check the Asian food aisle for a white box labeled “mochiko” (the Japanese term for the flour). Don’t use regular rice flour in , its place, as it won’t produce the same texture. And don’t use pre-toasted sesame seeds, while the seeds brown deeply as the bread cooks; toasted seeds may end up scorched and bitter. 

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)
Source of Recipe
America's Test Kitchen
Serves/Makes/Yields
MAKES 8 ROLLS

We have to admit that gluten-free baked goods rarely blow our hair back. It’s just difficult to achieve the satisfying chew of wheat-based baked goods without the help of gluten. But tapioca starch’s unique qualities make it one of the best substitutes out there.

John’s Crusty White Bread

Source of Recipe
John Beamish
Serves/Makes/Yields
Two Loaves

My objective here was to create bread that was really crusty when toasted and this certainly does that. The crust will be a bit chewy when untoasted but not crisp. If you like crusty toast, my suggestion would be to toast the bread on the high side of your normal toast setting.

 

Whole-Wheat Dinner Roll

Seeded Molasses Whole-Wheat Dinner Roll
Source of Recipe
NY Times, City Kitchen By DAVID TANIS DEC. 2, 2016
Serves/Makes/Yields
About 30 Rolls

Dinner rolls don’t have to be white and fluffy. These flavorful brown-bread rolls are chock full of a variety of tasty seeds and are sweetened with a touch of molasses. The dough resembles a whole-wheat challah, with a crisp crust and a light texture.