Easy Garlic Cheese No-Knead Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my homemade no-knead bread so dense? ›

Why is my bread dense: Usually bread will be too dense when there is too much flour. Keep in mind this dough will be pretty sticky, do not add more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour. Little yeast, long rise, sticky dough are keys to a good, light loaf.

Vinegar – I use my homemade apple cider vinegar but any vinegar will do, it helps create a better texture in no-knead bread recipes. Yeast – I use active dry yeast but instant will work too. Store your yeast in the fridge to help prolong shelf life.

The main difference is in the way that gluten is formed in the loaves. Kneaded breads use kneading to develop the gluten and no-knead breads use the natural chemical changes that happen when flour and water are mixed to develop the gluten.

No-knead bread uses a very small amount of yeast to extend the rising time to many hours. Not only does gluten develop over that long time, but enzymes in the flour activate and convert some of the wheat starches into sugar, which feeds the yeast and adds to the flavour of the bread.

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

If you don't knead your dough, your baked bread won't rise as high, and the overall texture and appearance will be dense.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

When just vinegar and yeast are mixed, vinegar's weak acid cancels out yeast's ability to grow.

Too much yeast could cause the dough to go flat by releasing gas before the flour is ready to expand. If you let the dough rise too long, it will start having a yeast or beer smell and taste and ultimately deflate or rise poorly in the oven and have a light crust.

Pros: Develops dough without adding additional flour (as with traditional kneading). Effective method, especially with slack doughs such as baguettes. Cons: Takes time and repetitions to master. Less effective with doughs that are either stiff or high hydration — best with medium-soft doughs.

What is the no-knead bread theory? ›

The method uses a long rise instead of kneading to align the dough's gluten molecules with each other so as to produce a strong, elastic network, resulting in long, sticky strands.

Oil or flour your tin or baking tray

You can use olive or vegetable oil, lard or butter to grease your tine and prevent your loaf from sticking. If I am using a baking tray for a free form loaf then I will dust it with flour, rice flour or semolina to prevent any sticky bits of dough cementing themselves to the tray.

Lack of gas and fermentation that makes the dough aerate results in dense and heavy bread. In these cases, it is either necessary to allow the dough to be proof longer or move it to the warmer room.

Fermentation is at the heart of many of them. (FYI: Fermentation refers to the process yeast goes through to make bread rise or proof.) If the fermentation is too fast or too slow, too long or too short, or not as predicted, dense bread is often the result.