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.
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