recipe: no knead bread

taken from: Steamy Kitchen

changes: substituted 1 cup of bread flour for wheat flour; added seasoning to crust. 

ingredients: 

- 3 cups bread flour (or part bread, part wheat)

- 1/4 tsp instant yeast

- 1 tsp table salt (or 3/4 tsp kosher)

- 1 & 1/2 cups warm water

- "Everything But The Bagel" seasoning salt from Trader Joe's (or any other seasoning, if preferred)

- covered pot (5-quart or large cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic -- something that's designed to go into a 450 F degree oven)

to make: 

mix dough: the night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon, until the dough just comes together (it was very, very sticky and messy... i was convinced i didn't add enough flour, but i went with it). cover with plastic wrap and let it sit out 12-20 hours on the counter top. 

shape & preheat: after the dough has rested, it will be wet, sticky, and bubbly. with a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. fold the ends of the dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. wet your hands if you're using them to shape the dough so the dough does not stick (i did this, it still stuck to me... and i was convinced i didn't fold it enough because my dough was still very gloppy after i folded it, but i went with it). place a large sheet of parchment paper on the counter. drop the dough onto the parchment paper, and lift the paper up (with the dough) and place it back into the large bowl. cover the bowl with a wet towel, and let it rest for 2 hours. when you've got 30 minutes left, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and add the covered pot into the oven.

bake: after the 2 hours is up, the dough should have doubled in size. remove pot from oven, and drop the parchment paper with the dough blob into the pot. sprinkle with seasoning. shake to even dough out, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. uncover, and bake another 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the middle of the loaf is 210 F degrees. 

remove and let cool on a wired rack. 

results: THE BEST BREAD EVER. if this was served in a restaurant, i'd ask for a second bread basket even if it made me so full i felt sick. perfectly soft, perfectly crusty, perfect flavor, delightful seasoning. and no sugar!