No-knead Bread, is this a magic？ 免揉麵包，真的這樣神奇？
In the past Christmas and New Year holidays, I have baked a number of no-knead breads using recipes from the famous blogger Carol Hu. Some minor adjustments on the proportion of the ingredients and the fermentation time were added.
在剛過去的聖誕及新年假期，我做了好幾次的免揉麵包。材料和做法大致上都是跟隨 Carol Hu 的 blog 所述，只是在材料份量和發酵時間上作出小量修改。
Plain 原味
Cream Cheese with Dried-fruit 軟芝士乾果
Baguette 長棍
The texture of the bread is determined by how well the gluten strands are developed. When flour is mixed with water to form the dough, those enzyme in the air as well as the added yeast will “digest” the dough and release gas bubbles. Through the kneading process, a consistent structure of gluten strands will be developed wich help to provide the airy structure of the bread.
Unlike the traditional method of bread making, no-knead bread relies on long fermentation time instead of kneading to develop the required gluten strands. There are a lot of no-knead bread recipes available with slight variations. They are characterised by low yeast content, higher water proportion and very long fermentation time which typically lasted from 12 to 18 hours.
The no-knead method existed for quite a long time but got more attention and popularity in the past few years. Even you don’t have a bread machine or have no clue to the art of bread kneading, you can bake quality bread with the no-knead method.
Sounds fantastic, but is it that easy to achieve?
麵包的質感是取決於它的筋性。在製作麵包的過程中，當麵粉和水混合後，酵母便會把麵糰分解，經過搓揉而產生筋性。
免揉麵包做法則是利用較長的發酵時間代替傳統的麵糰搓揉。坊間有各式各樣的做法，重點是酵母份量稍為低，水份較高，及頗長的發酵時間 (12 至18小時不等)。
其實免揉麵包也不是甚麼新玩意，只是近幾年有較多人推介這做法。即使你沒有麵包機，也不掌握搓揉麵糰的奧妙，你也可做出鬆軟可口的麵包。
這真是太神奇了，但事實是否真的如此簡單呢？
Based on the last four no-kneading breads that I have made (including the one with not so good fermentation), I think the no-kneading method really does its magic. However, there are some variations in the baking process that will affect the final quality of the bread, which I believe more practice is required before you can master the no-kneading method.
經歷四次（包括發酵得不太理想的一次）的製作體驗，我相信免揉麵包理念是正確無誤的，但其中或有一些製作上的差異可能會影響到製成品的質量，所以需要更多的實踐才能掌握其精粹。
I shared with you some of my experience on no-knead bread baking:
以下是我對免揉麵包做法的一些體驗：
Let’s take a look at a very popular No-knead bread recipe (taken from the book “My Bread” written by Jim Lahey of the NY based Sullivan Street Bakery) that is similar to Carol’s recipe:
Basic ingredients include flour, salt, yeast and water.
首先附上一個較通用的免揉麵包食譜 (取自美國紐約 Sullivan Street Bakery 的 Jim Lahey 的書“My Bread“)，這和Carol的食譜頗相近:
基本材料包括麵粉，鹽，酵母及水。
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材料 Ingredients 份量 Grams/ml 烘焙比例 Baker’s % 麵粉 Flour 400 100% 鹽 Salt 8 2% 快速酵母 Instant yeast 1 0.25% 水 Water 300 75%
Next followed by some of the variations that I have made in the baking process:
接著看看我在製作上的一些差異:
Ingredients & Proportion 材料份量
Some of the variations are the type of flour (Bread flour or All Purpose flour) and yeast (Active dried yeast or Instant yeast) to be used. Adjustment will be required from time to time. In my case, I used high protein content (14%) bread flour and more water is required. In addition, as I also used active dried yeast, I have to increase the amount of yeast and activate the yeast.
相比於以上的食譜，製作過程中會有一些差異，例如麵粉的疍白質含量（高筋麵粉，中筋麵粉/All purpose flour) 及酵母種類（乾酵母，快速酵母）等，大家要就實際情況作出修改。我用的是含14%疍白質的高筋粉，所以水的份量要加多一些。另一方面，因為我使用乾酵母，所以份量也要相對增加，亦需要事前把酵母叫醒。
Dough Handling 麵糰處理
Since no-kneading method has higher water content, the resulting dough will be so watery that is hard to handle. I have followed other’s suggestion to add some flour to my hands and the dough to make it less sticky.
製作免揉麵包要用較多的水份，混合好的麵糰會變得很黏濕。我跟隨坊間的建議，稍為灑多一點點麵粉於雙手和要處理的麵糰上，使它較易於處理。
Bread Making Time 製作時間
The No-kneading method requires a very long initial fermentation time that ranges from 12 to 18 hours. By including other time for mixing, dough relaxing, shaping, second fermentation and baking time, it may take nearly one whole day to make the bread. Comparing with the 3 to 4 hours found in the traditional method, good time management is highly desirable. Otherwise, you may have to wake up in the mid-night just like me to continue the baking work on the fermented dough. Life of a professional baker is really tough!
免揉麵包的發酵過程比傳統做法慢很多，一般來說需要12至18小時的第一段發酵時間，再加上基本的材料混合，麵糰放鬏，做形，二段發酵及烘焙，做一個麵包可能需要一整天。相比傳統做法的三、四小時，免揉做法需要較好的時間安排。否則就像我一樣，需要半夜起床為剛完成一段發酵的麵糰繼續工作。正因如此，也令我深深體會到麵包師傅的辛勞。
Ingredients of the basic no-knead method is very simple. The flavours of the bread are coming from the fermentation process and the salt. Good practice is required to master the fermentation process in order to release the best bread flavours. Moreover, the building up of the soft and airy bread structure will be totally relied on the mother nature to control the fermentation process.
One can only know whether the bread is good or not when the bread is baked and being sliced. Something just like taking picture with the good old non-digital camera that may bring some surprise.
免揉麵包的材料非常簡單，味道主要來自麵粉發酵及食鹽，我們要多加練習，好好掌握發酵時間令酵母分解麵粉，釋放出更多香味。另外由於沒有搓揉麵糰的工序，麵包氣孔及鬆軟的控制都交給大自然來處理，也取決於材料比例的控制。
一個麵包成功與否都要留待烘焙後，把麵包切開那一刻才可確定，這也好比用傳統相機拍照一樣，充滿驚喜。
For the past four no-kneading breads that I have made, I will give myself a passing mark of 70. They all looked good on the outside, however, more practice will definitely help me to master the fermentation process and the fine tuning on the ingredients.
就這幾次的製作的滿意程度，我會給自己 70 分。麵包買相可接受，但對於發酵工序的掌握，食材和份量上的控制則仍需要更大的努力及嘗試。
