shelf life for no-knead

[Grumio]

I'm a devotee of the no-knead bread method. It's fantastic stuff & ridiculously easy to make.

Only problem is that I live alone, & being a flour/yeast/salt/water bread, it doesn't keep well. I can get through most of a loaf, but that last 15-20% is always just about dried out.

Any suggestions on improving shelf life? The recipe is 15 oz flour - 10 oz liquid. I generally use 2 tbsp each of rye, whole wheat & spelt; the rest unbleached all-purpose. Liquid 7 oz water 3 oz beer.

I got some soy flour today & put 2 tbsp in the dough I just made. I also added 2 tbsp olive oil. I've done that before; it helped but not much. More oil?

Also, I'm not sure what proper bread technique is: if I want to add some fat to the recipe, do I consider it as part of the liquid (ie 10 oz liquid total) or as an addition (10 oz + 2 tbsp)? I guessed the latter & that's what I've done.

Any other ideas?

[angrybob]

Have you considered freezing half of the loaf? I make 2-3 loaves of no knead per week and freeze the other two. After the bread has cooled I place each loaf in a plastic bag and freeze. I usually thaw the bread out on the counter prior to use. I have also rewarmed it in the oven and it comes out almost like freshly baked.

Another thing I do if some bread has gone dry is take a damp paper towel cover the bread and microwave it for 15-20 seconds.

About your recipe, one thing I do differently than you is 15 oz. total weight of flour(all types) to 12-13 oz of water. My bread keeps 2-3 days in paper bag quite nicely.

[cheesecake man]

We also freeze our bread but we slice it before it is frozen, that way we can pull out what we need for the moment and don't have to unthaw the whole loaf, besides, a couple of slices thaw out quicker than a loaf. Thus by not thawing the whole loaf it extends the life of the loaf.
Be sure to use good freezer bags. We have tried off brand bags but found that the zip loc are the best and last the longest.

[Grumio]

Yeah, I've thought about freezing. Guess I'll try it.

One nifty idea I had for freezing was to cut 16-20oz plastic water bottles in half lengthwise, line them with parchment paper & use those as bannetons for rolls. I have a braiser that would probably fit four of what I'm thinking of...

Well, when I shift from lazy armchair theorist mode to ardent experimentalist mode I shall make it sew & report results.

The loaf with the soy flour & olive oil's about to go into the oven; I'll report results in a couple of days. If it don't all get et.

Freezing is good - any more ideas?

[foodpump]

If it's shelf life you're after, you won't get it with a straight method no -knead bread.
Long fermentation times contribute to good shelf life (and far better flavour...), might be something to look into

[Grumio]

Well, in my experience, no flour/yeast/salt/water breads have much of a shelf life to brag about - that's why I'm experimenting with adding ingredients like fat & different non-wheat flours.

The recipe I use largely follows the Cook's Illustrated tweak - using beer & vinegar to add some fermentation flavors, & I do let the dough autolyse for 18-24 hours, but no, it isn't Nancy Silverton Hardcore. It does give me an excellent loaf of bread for about 15 minutes of hands-on work & a buck-fifty's worth of ingredients. One of these days I'll get a starter going, but for now, this'll do.

Btw, yesterday's loaf with 2 tbsp each of soy flour & olive oil seems like an improvement - I also put in a couple tbsp of buckwheat flour, but I haven't heard any claims that buckwheat flour aids shelf life. Next loaf I'll up the soy flour a bit.

[dscheidt]

Originally Posted by Grumio

Well, in my experience, no flour/yeast/salt/water breads have much of a shelf life to brag about - that's why I'm experimenting with adding ingredients like fat & different non-wheat flours.

Bread staling is caused by retrogradation of starch gels. When bread is baked, starch and water form a gel as the dough is heated. Once the bread is out of the oven, the starch gel starts reverting back to starch and water. Some of this takes place very quickly -- bread right out of the oven is very soft and impossible to slice. As it cools, it gets harder -- that's a result of starch retrograding. That process continues until nearly all the water content of the bread is out of the starch. As long as the bread hasn't lost too much of that water, the starch and water can be made to re-gelate, by heating to about 140F.

To prevent or retard staling, you need to prevent the retrogradation of the starch. Commercial bakeries do this with enzymes that change the make up of the starches in the dough -- different types of starch retrograde at different rates, so if you can increase the amylopectin starch, it'll stale more slowly. There are also emulsifiers used which reduce the rate of staling. You probably don't want to use these sorts of things, but there are some things you can do to improve your shelf life.

Egg yolks are rich in emulsifiers that will increase the keeping ability of bread. They're also a source of fat. Fat will add softness to the crumb of the bread, which can reduce the perceived staleness of the bread. It will also tend to increase the rise of the bread, which will also reduce the level of perceived staleness. Adding some fat, in the form of oil, shortening or butter, will also have this effect.

Liquid milk, and particularly real buttermilk (which is different from the cultured stuff you can easily find), also add emulsifiers (and fat, depending on the milk fat level), which will retard staling.

Adding sugar, particularly liquid sugars, like honey or molasses, will also reduce the rate of perceived staling, as they'll tend to absorb moisture from the air, and to reduce the rate at which the water in the bread is lost.

This is what I do for no knead bread, usually:

100% flour (I usually do 90% bread, 10% wheat)
0.20% Instant dry yeast
2% salt
5% fat, in the form of an oil (pick based on your flavor preference...)
80% water, 90F

Mix dry ingredients together. While stirring, add half the water. add the oil, then rest of water, stirring constantly. Stir until dough comes together. Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in fridge for 36 hours. Fold dough, shape, preheat oven to 500F. put in oven, turn down to 425F. Bake 35ish minutes. (205F internal temp.)

I don't bother with cumbersome dutch oven process, as I've been doing things this way too long to switch. This keeps on the counter for a couple days. I think the first thing I'd try, if you want longer life, is to replace the fat with 5% whole eggs.

[Grumio]

Thanks very much for the food science explanation, d! I have McGee, & didn't even think to look in it. And now I don't have to!

The soy flour idea (from the King Arthur Flour cookbook) is promising. I'm going to try a quarter cup in the next loaf. Then I think I'll try some butter & an egg. But that seems like it will change the character of the bread quite a bit.

I think I just have to face up to the fact that kind of bread I like best just doesn't have good keeping properties. Freezing half the loaf as soon as it's completely cooled is probably the best.

I don't find the dutch oven cumbersome - & the crust I get using it beats the pants off any other method I've used. By a looooong shot.

Thanks again for an excellent post. I'll post any notable results of experiments, pro or con...