No Knead Bread

I have been unconvinced by this idea, because we have an excellent breadmaker, which reduced the appeal of no knead bread a lot.  But I wanted to try it, and eventually got around to doing so.  It makes a quite heavy loaf, with a wonderful crust, just the right amount of thick, crisp, and chewy.  Good crumb.

The recipe is the one that has been doing the rounds since 2006, from the New York Times.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp yeast

Mix together these ingredients, cover and leave someplace warm (hot water cupboard!) for a day or so. Fold over a couple times, let sit 15 minutes. Flour up a board (and your hands), and shape dough into a ball. Place on a floured cotton cloth, cover with another of these, and let rise for a couple hours.  Bake in a hot oven (225-230c) for about 40 minutes.  I used a ceramic dish with no lid for mine, but you could as well leave it on a tray, or use a dutch oven.

Easy. Delicious.