My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method [Hardcover]

Jim Lahey (Author), Rick Flaste (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2009

Lahey’s “breathtaking, miraculous, no-work, no-knead bread” (Vogue) has revolutionized the food world.

When he wrote about Jim Lahey’s bread in the New York Times, Mark Bittman’s excitement was palpable: “The loaf is incredible, a fine-bakery quality, European-style boule that is produced more easily than by any other technique I’ve used, and it will blow your mind.” Here, thanks to Jim Lahey, New York’s premier baker, is a way to make bread at home that doesn’t rely on a fancy bread machine or complicated kneading techniques. Witnessing the excitement that Bittman’s initial piece unleashed worldwide among bakers experienced and beginner alike, Jim grew convinced that home cooks were eager for a no-fuss way to make bread, and so now, in this eagerly anticipated collection of recipes, Jim shares his one-of-a-kind method for baking rustic, deep-flavored bread in your own oven.

The secret to Jim Lahey’s bread is slow-rise fermentation. As Jim shows in My Bread, with step-by-step instructions followed by step-by-step pictures, the amount of labor you put in amounts to 5 minutes: mix water, flour, yeast, and salt, and then let time work its magic—no kneading necessary. Wait 12 to 18 hours for the bread to rise, developing structure and flavor; then, after another short rise, briefly bake the bread in a covered cast-iron pot.

The process couldn’t be more simple, or the results more inspiring. My Bread devotes chapters to Jim’s variations on the basic loaf, including an olive loaf, pecorino cheese bread, pancetta rolls, the classic Italian baguette (stirato), and the stunning bread stick studded with tomatoes, olives, or garlic (stecca). He gets even more creative with loaves like Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread, others that use juice instead of water, and his Irish Brown Bread, which calls for Guinness stout. For any leftover loaves, Jim includes what to do with old bread (try bread soup or a chocolate torte) and how to make truly special sandwiches.

And no book by Jim Lahey would be complete without his Sullivan Street Bakery signature, pizza Bianca—light, crispy flatbread with olive oil and rosemary that Jim has made even better than that of Italy’s finest bakeries. Other pizza recipes, like a pomodoro (tomato), only require you to spread the risen dough across a baking sheet and add toppings before baking.

Here—finally—Jim Lahey gives us a cookbook that enables us to fit quality bread into our lives at home. color photos throughout

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The founder of New York's Sullivan Street Bakery, Lahey started a revolution in 2006 with his no-knead dough technique, in which flour, yeast, salt and water are mixed together quickly, left alone for 12 hours, then baked in a Dutch oven. The baking-averse found themselves suddenly capable of bread-making with a minimum of skill and fuss, opening a world of possibilities. In this wonderful compilation, Lahey elaborates on that method, explaining not only the science behind his approach but, through liberal use of photos, the technique as well. Once readers have mastered his basic dough (which won't take long), they're on their way to crafting homemade pizza, ciabatta, foccacia and rye as well as more playful variations such as peanut butter and jelly bread. While waiting for dough to rise, readers can pick from suggested sandwiches, such as Lahey's Cuban, made with Citrus Roast Porkand homemade pickles. Lahey's passion for bread-making and feeding people carries the book; his plainspoken advice and patient tutelage provide novices with a sure, steady hand to hold; and his methods will surely be adopted by chefs and bakers of all stripes.

Review

“Starred Review. The founder of New York’s Sullivan Street Bakery, Lahey started a revolution in 2006 with his no-knead dough technique, in which flour, yeast, salt and water are mixed together quickly, left alone for 12 hours, then baked in a Dutch oven. The baking-averse found themselves suddenly capable of bread-making with a minimum of skill and fuss, opening a world of possibilities. In this wonderful compilation, Lahey elaborates on that method, explaining not only the science behind his approach but, through liberal use of photos, the technique as well. Once readers have mastered his basic dough (which won’t take long), they’re on their way to crafting homemade pizza, ciabatta, foccacia and rye as well as more playful variations such as peanut butter and jelly bread. While waiting for dough to rise, readers can pick from suggested sandwiches, such as Lahey’s Cuban, made with Citrus Roast Porkand homemade pickles. Lahey’s passion for bread-making and feeding people carries the book; his plainspoken advice and patient tutelage provide novices with a sure, steady hand to hold; and his methods will surely be adopted by chefs and bakers of all stripes.” (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (October 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393066304
• ISBN-13: 978-0393066302
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Bread

More About the Author

Jim Lahey has been featured on the cover of Bon Appétit and in The New York Times, Vogue and Saveur. He has also appeared on the Martha Stewart Show and NBC's Today show. His innovative no-knead bread recipe that ignited a worldwide home-baking revolution was first published in an article by Mark Bittman in The New York Times in 2006. This article became the basis of Lahey's first cookbook My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method, and now his just-released, My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home.

Lahey opened Sullivan St Bakery in Soho in 1994 with little more than the wild yeast he hand-cultivated in Italy and a desire to bring the craft of small-batch bread baking to America. In 2009, he opened the doors to Co., his first pizza restaurant.