No Knead Bread Made With Marmite? That’s Right.

Ok, I confess.  I am really late to this no knead bread scene.  My lame excuse is that for the past several years I’ve been spending 12+ hours a day in kitchens working and so  the last thing I wanted to do whenever I got home was think about food. Turns out that I only found out about this bread while researching some Le Creuset pots, so really I just got lucky.

I bake this bread nearly twice every week. The husband and I will easily demolish a loaf with some artisanal cheese, charcuterie and mustard. There is, and will never be, anything like a loaf of freshly baked bread. The best part is taking it out of the oven and listening to it crackle.  And for what it is, its really good. But I feel it is slightly lacking in flavor, that specific yeasty “breadiness,” for lack of a better term, which is found in normal kneaded white breads. So I decided to embark upon the task of making this bread more flavorful, using different ingredients. I found that Marmite works pretty well.

I was first introduced to Marmite by my high school boyfriend who hailed from England, where the dark gooey spread is celebrated daily on pieces of toast with peanut butter. He offered me my first taste of the stuff, promising that I would be disgusted. Surprisingly, I wasn’t disgusted, I thought it was kinda good in a strange way, though I could understand why it would be an acquired taste. Marmite is mainly yeast extract, and it is quite overwhelming if consumed straight up or in a large quantity. The smell is very strong, it is quite salty and yes, it tastes yeasty. Which is why I figured it would be perfect to add to this No Knead Bread recipe*.

After a few trials, I got the formula down. The result was a darker-colored bread with more flavor, the crust had an almost malty nuance. The crust and crumb came out exactly the same as the original, so nothing was compromised. Compare, Marmite bread on the left, original no knead bread on the right:

Here is the recipe I use, adapted from Mark Bittman who adapted it from Jim Lahey!:

No Knead Bread, avec Marmite

3 C All-Purpose flour
3/4 tsp regular yeast (or 1/4 tsp instant yeast)
1 tsp salt (or 3/4 tsp kosher salt)
1 1/2 C lukewarm water, minus 1 tsp
1 tsp Marmite
As needed, flour for dusting
As needed, corn meal or oat bran 

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the Marmite into the water. Add the liquid to the dry mixture. Mix just to incorporate, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 12-18 hours at 70˚F.

Scrape dough onto floured surface (I do this directly on a towel). Dust lightly with flour and pat down. Fold in all ends towards the center of the dough to form a ball.

Dust cornmeal/oat bran onto a towel, and place dough seam side down directly on top (note: coating is optional). Wrap in towel loosely to cover.  

Let the dough rise to double, about an hour or two.  In the meantime, preheat oven to 450˚F. Place a 5-qt cast iron pot with lid inside. (I’ve also used a terrine mold for a half recipe, perfect for sandwiches.)

When the dough is ready, drop it into the hot cast iron pot, seam side up. Shake pan gently to spread out dough evenly if needed. Cover with hot lid. Bake with lid on for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until loaf is done. You know the bread is ready when you tap it on the bottom and hear a hollow “thump.”

Remove bread from pan and cool on rack.

TIP: I’ve found that the best way to store fresh bread is by wrapping it in a cotton towel, the crispness of the crust is less compromised and the bread stays fresh.

*The original recipe can be found here: NyTimes.

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