Bittman Bread

I love all my Mark Bittman cookbooks (some more than others) but I did request this one from the library before purchasing. I mean, I have the original Minimalist column touting Jim Lahey's no-knead break printed out and in my favorite recipe binder. Like all the best recipes, those pages are marked up and have dough bits stuck on. I used the recipe a lot, but gave it up because the freaking loaf stuck in my Le Creuset pot way too often. Did I really need to pay for an entire cookbook about this?

I have to confess I have also tried twice during the pandemic to start my own sourdough starter and failed both times. There were also pre-pandemic attempts. Back in the 80s I had a bread book with directions for a yeast starter that developed into a sourdough starter, that book disappeared years ago and my attempts to start a sourdough starter from absolute scratch have all failed miserably. My white flour Bittman starter loaf turned out beautifully. I'm on day 3 of the whole wheat starter process and will try to update.

I've seen complaints about the 2-quart pot, but I love the size. That loaf from the 4-quart pot back when I was making the Lahey loaf regularly was hard to slice. Lining the pot with parchment paper meant no sticking, and working with wet fingers rather than using extra flour to prevent sticking gives a nice slack dough. For anyone with reservations about acquiring a 2-quart pot, this is exactly the right size to cook the box of mac & cheese you swore before you had kids that you would never feed your kids.