Sold on No-Knead Bread

I love baking as you probably already know. I was born into a bakers family and I am proud to say that I spent many long weekends next to my mother and grandmother learning by their side as they made tried and true family favorites. But today I am so excited to make the all popular No-Knead Bread that everyone is talking about from New York Times online. I have the recipe for you to in case you are as curious about it as I am. Great Friday night/weekend project, don't you think? Here is the recipe for your very eager printer to print off. I had a hard time actually getting it off NY Times site so here it is for you:

No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 18-20 hours' rising time

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons of salt

Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 hours, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side own on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, Dutch Oven, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess but this is okay. Shake pan once or twice if dough is enevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15-30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1 1/2 pound loaf.