No Knead Bread

For a long time, I didn't think about Jake's No Knead Bread post. But then Rachel moved in. She brought her cast iron dutch oven, and overnight, there was suddenly this incredible, hard crust, chewy inside, big holed boule in our kitchen. Surely it was store bought? No! This is the infamous no knead bread! Holy cow! For years, I have tried wetter breads in a refrigerated rise overnight, putting a cup of water in the oven, tossing water on the element in the oven (shhh, don't tell the land lords), baking on a stone, baking in a loaf pan, and then finally that bread machine incident when I gave up on doing all the labor. Searching for the perfect homemade crust is not easy when you're accustomed to the product of large, professional ovens, and years of professional baking experience. But now you can have it all. Cheaply, and simply!

This article in the NY Times mentions a bit about the molecular theory behind this bread, which you can explore more in depth if you happen to own a copy of On Food and Cooking (thank you PK!). Watch a video of Jim Lahey (the recipe creator) making this bread with a total of FIVE MINUTES of labor. Now go make some!