No Knead Bread

My husband and I spent the past weekend in the Twin Cities visiting friends. Needless to say, I'm a little tired this week. I don't feel like doing much cooking yet, and until I get the energy back to make a big meal, we're eating out of the freezer. It's cold out, and I am hungry for some french onion soup. Luckily, I was inspired a month or so ago to make soups and freeze them for future use. Now, here's the deal. I don't like french onion soup. However, I LOVE baked french onion soup. Especially that wonderful crouton that floats on top smothered with gruyere and parmesan. Well, if I'm going to have baked french onion, I need bread.

Now, bread baking and I don't get along. I grew up working in a bakery. Our relationship should be a harmonious one filled with butter and sprinkles of cheese. Nope. Bread doesn't like me. What wonderfully risen rolls and breads I make, only to see them fall flat as pancakes in the oven. Maybe I should have paid more attention to making bread than wedding cakes. I digress. I have finally found a bread recipe that even I cannot ruin. A bread recipe that is so easy I let my four year old make it with me. No Knead Bread. This recipe is courtesy of the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. This bread has a thin, hard crust and spongy interior. It will be love at first warm buttered bite. It will be delicious in my baked french onion. If you can control yourself from eating the entire loaf while it's warm, you will have fantastic grilled sandwiches on this bread.

By the way, this bread sings. When you take it out of the oven, listen to the hiss and crackles as it cools.

No Knead Bread

Courtesy of Sullivan Street Bakery, NYC

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.