Dried kidney beans should be soaked before cooking, both to speed cooking time and to reduce any gas-causing tendencies. There are two ways to soak dried beans:
Overnight soak:
Quick-soak method:
Soaked kidney beans will cook in about 60 minutes. Use 3 cups of water for each cup of uncooked beans, and you may wish to season the beans by adding bay leaves, herb sprigs, or garlic cloves to the cooking water. There’s a persistent myth that adding salt to beans while they cook will toughen their skins. This is not true, however, and salting the cooking water gives the beans better flavor.
