No Knead Bread. Don't be scared!

Bread is a scary thing to make.  Proofing yeast?  WTF?  But buying sub-par bread from the grocery store for four bucks a pop started to scare me too.  After much inner struggle, I decided to try no knead bread.  I'd heard so much about it, but I was still a little wary.  Let me tell you.  It is AMAZING.  And so easy!  Just takes some planning ahead! (All my recipes lately require planning ahead! what is this?)  And it does require one of those fancy schmancy cast iron enamel pans.  I got one for Christmas last year and I love it.  Mine is the Martha Stewart line, and you can get them for pretty reasonable prices if you watch the sales.  I highly recommend them.  So with no further adu, I give you no knead bread.

No Knead Bread

3 c. bread flour  (I also highly recommend King Arthur bread flour.  I don't know the science behind it, but it does make a difference for some scientific reason)

1/2 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 5/8 c. water  (basically a little more than 1 1/2 c.)
and my little addition: a few drops of red wine vinegar (opt.)

Throw it all in the mixer, mix it up, (it will be shaggy) cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit about 18 hours.  If I am going to be making it for dinner one night, I will mix it all up the night before around bedtime. 

18 or so hours later, the dough will be bubbly, smell yeasty, and be suuuuuper sticky.  Plop it out of the bowl, dust with flour, and try your hardest to mold it into some sort of shape.  Don't get discouraged at this point.  Its a sticky ugly mess.  Just trust me.  Let it raise for about another hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 450 with the cast iron enamel pan in there with the lid on.  Let it sit in there and get super hot for about 30 minutes.  Take it out of the oven, and plop the bread it.  Don't worry about the shape.  This is very rustic bread.  Put the lid on, and place it back in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes with the lid on, then 15 more with the lid off. 

Once you remove it from the oven, try and restrain yourself from cutting a piece right then.  It is better if you let it sit and cool for at least an hour, or else the inside gets kind of gummy. 

This sounds hard, but I promise its not.  And it never fails.  This is always what my family wants me to bring to dinner because it is sooooo good!