The No Fail No Knead Homemade Bread

I love bread, especially when it is freshly out of the oven. Nothing opens up my appetite more than the aroma of a newly baked loaf.  In France, I had the luxury of living close to a neighborhood boulangerie, from which I'd pick up a small baguette on the way home almost every single day.

Perhaps because it was so readily available, bread has been one of the things that I never even bothered to learn how to make. Years later, it came back to bite me. After our local bread place went out of business last year, I found myself in despair. When I really crave for a fresh loaf, I have nowhere to turn! Even worse, I cannot make a good loaf by myself! The horror!

For the past half year, I have been toying with various bread recipes on and off. Some were OK, others were disappointing. Most of the good ones took a LOT of work, and I almost gave up on making my own bread. Until D went to a dinner party and relayed on an awesome recipe from a couple from Europe, who also struggled to find a good bread in town and had spent a great amount of time experimenting with home bread-making.

And guess where the recipe is from? -- the New York Times!

The beauty of this recipe lies in the ease of making the loaf. You basically put everything in the mixing bowl and walk away for a day and half. No work needed! You heard me right -- there is no kneading involved. I was suspicious at first, but the result turned out to be awesome. The bread turned out aromatic, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Everything you could ask for.

The No Fail No Knead Bread from New York Times

(serves 8)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 2/3 cups cold water

1. Mix everything together in a mixing bowl, and let it rest for about 18 hours (covered with plastic wrap).
2. Fold the dough over once or twice and cover with plastic wrap. 
   
   
   
3. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes or so, until it looked like this.
   
4. Transfer the dough into a towel well dusted with some flour, and let it rise for another 2 hours or so.
   
5. Heat the oven to 450 degrees, and put a pot with the lid in the oven to preheat for about 30 minutes. When the dough is ready, flip the dough into the pan, seam-side up. Shake it a bit. Bake with lid on for 30 minutes. Take the lid off and bake for another 20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   Cost:
   The whole bread cost less than a dollar to make. I simply cannot think of a better deal!