No-Knead Bread

I just bought a bread machine at a stoop sale for $10 and have been somewhat obsessive about making bread lately. I was trying different kinds of breads, including sourdough-with the smelly sourdough starter in my fridge and everything. I just dumped the starter because I realized that I wasn't really enjoying the sourdough very much and I had to keep renewing the starter each week to keep it alive. So every week or so I would make another loaf of sourdough that I didn't really enjoy. I have a *very* hard time throwing anything away, even a smelly wet lump of dough in the fridge. But I overcame all obstacles and did it.

I have to say that the crumb of a loaf of bread machine bread isn't the kind of crumb I seek out from a bakery. I prefer a crunchy crust with a chewy, filled-with-holes interior. I was trying different things, such as bread flour, gluten to add to the flour, etc. when my friend Dirk mentioned a recipe for No-Knead Bread he saw in the Times. Mark Bittman went to Sullivan Street bakery, where they have the yummiest white pizza (no cheese, just chewy/rosemary/salty goodness). He got this recipe for bread, which is super easy and produces the crusty/chewy of bread I love. Once you mix the ingredients, you have to let the dough sit for about 12-18 hours, but the actual work is minimal and absolutely worth it. I've made this bread using 1 c. whole wheat flour and 1/4 c. flax seeds and it was still light and airy. Here's a one page printed version of the recipe.