Brain health: Recipe - Bread, whole-grain wheat/barley (no-knead)

Bread made in an ancient way - easy to make and with unusual nutritional value

This is an extraordinary bread for several reasons (recipe is below). You'll be amazed by how easy it is to make, and at how great the results are, and for so little work. My favorite bread, I make it about every 10 days. You can replace the barley flour with whole wheat flour, if you like or need to, but the barley flour acts to lower the glycemic index of this bread.

This is a heavy, dense bread, which is good. Such bread digests more slowly - further contributing to its lower glycemic index. I give ingredients lists for a 3 pound and 5.5 pound loaf. Both may be baked in a 4 quart cast iron casserole or Dutch oven, although the bigger load is baked longer. I personally bake the larger recipe, cut it in quarters, and usually freeze 3 of the quarter immediately.

Although I've adapted the original recipe to make it both whole grain and mixed grain, this particular no-knead procedure was developed by New York City's Jim Lahey, owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery, 533 West 47th Street in Manhattan. He's clearly a bread god. See -

• Article about the bread, and Jim: "The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work" (Mark Bittman, New York Times, November 8, 2006).
• Recipe: "No-Knead Bread" (New York Times, November 8, 2006).

Please see my important notes, on a separate page, about ingredients and procedural details, before using the recipe. You'll want to see the photographs, as well.

This present page, however, is the one you'll print for your recipe collection.

Ingredients

For a 3 pound load

Whole wheat flour - 4 c

Whole barley flour - 1.75 c (Don't have barley flour? Just use more whole wheat flour!)

Rolled oats - 3/4 c (or, replace this with flour)

Water (room temperature) - 3 1/4 c.

Salt - 1/2 t

Yeast - 1/2 t

Sesame seed (brown) - optional

Five-spice powder - 1/4 t - optional

For a 5.5 pound load

This makes a magnificent loaf - more bread for the same amount of work!

Whole wheat flour - 7 c

Whole barley flour - 3.25 c (Don't have barley flour? Just use more whole wheat flour!)

Rolled oats - 1 1/2 c (or, replace this with flour)

Water (room temperature) - 5 2/3 c.

Salt - 1 t

Yeast - 1 t

Sesame seed (brown) - optional

Five-spice powder - 1/2 t - optional

Procedure - summary

For the 5.5 pound loaf, you'll need two towels, not one. (Before making this recipe for the first time, see the detailed procedure, on a separate page.)

1. Measure water, then salt and yeast (and five-spice powder, if used), into large pot which can be covered. (It should be not quite twice the volume of the mixed dough.).
2. Add flours and oats.
3. Stir with a large spoon until well mixed.
4. Cover and let sit 12-24 hours (18 hours is probably best). Environmental temperature doesn't matter - in the winter, I routinely let it sit in a 55F room, and the dough comes out just like it does in the summer. Time, not temperature, is what makes this dough work.
5. Turn the dough out onto one of the towels, well floured. Dusting it with flour as needed, fold dough over a couple of times, cover, and let rest 15-20 minutes. (You can lift edges of the towel to roll the dough around - a great idea because this dough is incredibly wet!)
6. If you're making the 5.5 pound load, cut the dough into two pieces. (This makes it much easier to handle - this recipe makes a lot of dough.)
7. Fold each dough piece over a very few more times, shaping it into a rough, round loaf. Don't worry about the shape - it doesn't matter.
8. Cover the dough mass and allow to rest for 2 more hours. About one hour into this time, place cooking pot and lid into your oven, and heat it to 450F.
9. At the end of the 2 rise, dump dough roughly into the hot cooking pot. Don't give any thought to how messy it looks. It simply doesn't matter (you'll see, after you make your first loaf).
10. If desired, spray or brush the top of the dough with water, and sprinkle it liberally with sesame seeds. Cover and return pot to the 450F oven.
11. Cook for 35, or 40 minutes, covered (for the 3 or 5.5 pound loaf respectively).
12. Remove lid and cook for 30 or 40 minutes more, depending on which loaf you're baking.
13. Remove from pot (cutting edges free if needed, and knocking bread out onto counter top). Place to cool on cake cooling rack.
14. After at least 2 hours cooling (4, or even 8, hours is better), it may be cut. Do not bag it, however, until it's cooled at least 8 hours. This is moist bread, and it will produce excessive condensation on the inside of the bag is you seal it up too early.