If you LOVE homemade bread, but dislike (or are afraid) of the work, this is the recipe for you!  Yes, it’s a no-knead bread…delish…easy…crusty on the outside…soft on the inside.  Perfect, right?  Give a try & send me pics!  🙂

• 3 c bread flour
• 1/4 t instant yeast (or 1/3 t regular yeast)
• 1-1/4 t salt
• 1-1/3 c warm water

In medium bowl, stir together flour, salt & yeast. Add the water & mix w/ your hands until you have a wet, sticky dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & let sit at room temperature between 12-18 hours. (I mix mine in the morning & then bake it the morning of the next day.) This slow fermentation is the key to the awesome flavor!

After 1st fermentation, generously dust a work surface w/ flour. Use a rubber spatula to scrape dough onto your work surface. It will be super loose & sticky, but DO NOT add more flour. Flour your hands & gently lift edges of dough in towards enter to make it round.

Place a cotton or linen tea towel onto a cookie sheet & generously rub flour into the cloth. Gently lift the dough onto the towel, seam-side down. Dust top of dough w/ more flour & cover w/ plastic wrap.

Let dough rise in a warm, draft free spot another 1-2 hours until it is almost doubled.

Half an hour before end of 2nd rise, preheat the oven to 475 deg with a rack in lower 1/3 position. Place a covered 4- to 5-quart heavy pot in the center of the oven.

At end of 2nd rise, carefully remove preheated pot from oven & uncover it. Remove plastic wrap from top of dough. Gather up ends of tea towel & gently flip dough into pot, sem-side up.

Cover pot & bake for 30 min. Remove lid & continue baking until bread is a deep chestnut color, another 15-30 min more.

When finished baking turn bread onto a wire rack to cool. Here’s the hard part! Don’t slice into it until it has fully cooled – about 1 hour. After that…I dare you to not eat the whole darn thing!! Enjoy!