The first time I ever heard of Mark Bittman (Twitter: @bittman), it was because of a simple bread recipe that was rapidly sweeping across all my cooking communities at the time, roughly late 2006.
The recipe, or so the story went, would provide a novice baker like me with gorgeous, crusty bread, without fail, every time.
But that’s not the exciting part. The exciting part is that there’s no kneading.
Have I ever mentioned how hard it is for me to knead bread by hand? Between my chronic pain issues and fatigue and boredom, not being able to bake good bread was one of those things I felt like they should come and take away my hippy card for. That and the fact that I don’t smoke pot or drink herbal tea. Or hug trees. I have the free-love and no-money parts down, though.
But I digress.
My bread was not anything anyone longed for. They didn’t wake up in the morning hoping it was bread day. They didn’t make sure there was good butter in the house to go with the awesome bread.
All that changed with the advent of the NYT recipe (for which I must pause and give love and admiration to Jim Lahey. Bittman may have popularized it, but Lahey was the one who made it, so Mr. Lahey, you da man).
This bread sounded like it was too good to be true, so I checked out the article in the New York Times (which gave the bread its vernacular “NYT” nickname among my foodie friends) and watched the video. You should be able to see the links to the articles and video without registration, but if not, registration is free. There’s an updated article from 2008. There’s a new video, too. (If you use the recipe Bittman posted, I recommend the 1 1/2 cups of water he uses in the video, not the 1 5/8 from the printed recipe.)
Oh. My. Effing. God.
It was the best bread I had baked up until that point, and not only that, but it gave me the courage to keep baking bread until it was how I wanted it to be. We bake our own bread all the time, now, and I’m here to tell you that Mark Bittman’s adventurous spirit around trying new ways of doing things is one of the reasons I kept plugging away at it.
And that’s how I encountered Mark Bittman. No-nonsense, minimalist Mark Bittman. In fact, his column in the New York Times is called “The Minimalist“. He claims not to be a chef, but everyone I know who’s cooked from his How To Cook Everything book disagrees. You should check him out. And if you buy his book from my Bookshelf, my cut goes to the Alameda County Community Food Bank.
Some of my favorite Minimalist videos:
Grilled Corn, Mexican Style
Scallop gumbo
Popovers
I’ve only heard about this bread recently (was out of the foodie loop for a while) but the pastry chef in me is cringing at all those big holes, lol. Still, it looks really tasty (and, hey, the pockets make great jam retention pools, right?) and there’s nothing in the world like fresh-baked bread so if this gets more folks to bake it themselves, good deal all around!
The big holes are what a lot of French-bread (and ciabatta, etc.) bakers are looking for. :-) It’s really, really yummy, and the crust is to die for.
I enjoy baking. I’m not sure why though. I can make a mean cake, and the best pizza crust you’re likely to find in Delaware, but none of the bread that I’ve ever made has been anything that I’ve been really satisfied with. I’ll be sure to try this though – it certainly seems easier than some other recipes I’ve used.
I used to hate baking, but as I learned more about it, I do like it now. I much prefer bread to cake, though.
It’s a really easy recipe, and practically foolproof. I hope it works out for you.
Don’t you just LOVE that bread!! After another 30 more pound loss, I will get back into the saddle again and start enjoying it again.
I am a total bread fiend. This is an awesome bread, but I pretty much love any fresh bread. Add butter, and I’m so there. :-)
This looks so yummy! And, I love, love, love that no kneading is required! Thanks so much for sharing! I can’t wait to give it a try!
-Jessica
Ooh, I hope it goes well! I’ll look forward to hearing about it.
I have to try this recipe! I’m a novice when it come to bread making, but this sounds fantastic.
Oh, do! It’s so easy.
I adore home baked bread of any kind and thought yours looked fabulous. Wondered after watching the Mark Brittman video if you had tried the recipe with adding the red wine vinegar?
Grandmereb Lovestobake (Donna) recently posted..Mocha Choco-latte Dessert
I haven’t. Does it make it more like sourdough, I wonder?
Not sure about that? I think he said something about how the acidity works to help the yeast work better?
Grandmereb Lovestobake (Donna) recently posted..Mocha Choco-latte Dessert
Oh, nifty, I had forgotten that detail. I’d better go watch it again; thanks!