Crusty No-Knead Bread

I have been baking bread for about 3 years.  Sometimes the bread comes out beautiful, crusty, flavorful, and just like I wanted.  Other times I knead bread for hours and hours praying that I will be rewarded with a bread that was worth the effort.  Usually the longer I work at getting a bread to be perfect, the worse it turns out (not ALWAYS though - sometimes my effort is graciously rewarded).  I was a little skeptical about trying this recipe - a bread the promised all the results with none of the effort?  Alas, it is true!  While I was studying for Ethnobotany and writing up some things for my journalism classes, the dough slowly rose in my kitchen and I don't think it could have been easier to cook.  I did use the "speedy" recipe for no-knead bread (about 4 and a half hours compared to 12 to 18 hours) from The New York Times, but I plan on trying the original no-knead bread sometime in the future.  Check back in the morning to see how the bread tastes (the housemates and I are using it for our sandwiches tomorrow).

Speedy No-Knead Bread
Adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bread flour (I used Kind Arthur Bread Flour)
• 1 packet ( 1/4 ounce) instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used Kosher Salt)
• Oil as needed (Pam cooking spray works fine)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature.
2. Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.
3. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (I used a dutch oven) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.
4. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack for about 30 minutes before cutting into and enjoying!

Look at that texture!