Cooking Dried Beans
Beans are a foundation, not a side dish. When you cook them from dry, you control the final texture, leaving you with beans that hold their shape while melting when you bite into them.
Sourcing and Sorting
Older beans take longer to soften and may never become truly creamy, so use beans from a shop with high turnover. Always spread them on a tray first to pick out any stray pebbles.
- heavy-bottomed dutch oven
- colander
- skimmer spoon
What goes in.
- 1 lbdried beans
- 1yellow onion, peeled and halved
- 2garlic cloves, smashed
- 2bay leaves
- 2 tbspkosher salt
Salting Throughout
Add salt only after the beans have softened halfway. Salting too early can toughen the skins, but waiting until the very end means the flavor never makes it to the center of the bean.
The method.
Soak the beans
Cover the beans with three inches of cold water in a large bowl. Leave them on the counter for at least 8 hours.
Prepare to cook
Drain the soaking water and rinse the beans thoroughly under cold running water.
Simmer
Place beans in the dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Cover with fresh water by two inches. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a whisper of a simmer.
Monitor and season
Check after 45 minutes. Once the beans are tender but still firm, stir in the salt. Continue cooking until the bean interior is completely smooth when pressed against the roof of your mouth.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If the water level drops below the beans during cooking, add boiling water from a kettle; cold water shocks the beans and slows down the cooking.
Do not boil hard. Violent bubbling causes the beans to knock against each other and break apart.
Leave the beans in their cooking liquid until they reach room temperature; they will absorb more flavor this way.
The ones that keep coming up.
Should I add baking soda?
Only if your water is exceptionally hard. A pinch helps break down tough skins, but use too much and the beans will turn mushy and taste metallic.
Why are my beans still hard?
It is almost always the age of the bean. If they haven't softened after two hours of simmering, they likely never will.
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