Homemade Bread, Unplugged

I have wanted to make this no-knead bread recipe for a long time. However, we almost never have bread in the house, and my BreadMan is collecting dust...why should I go to the effort of making bread by hand?

Why, I'll tell you why.

It is so satisfying! I have never been more proud of anything I have cooked than I am of this lovely loaf. The concept of bread is so fundamental, and it feels so good to create a perfect loaf from a handful of ingredients - in this case these ingredients were flour, water, yeast, salt. People of all cultures have made bread for thousands of years, and it is a staple of many diets. Who, besides my grandmother, has ever said that they don't like bread?

This recipe involved very little effort, a hefty chunk of (inactive) time, and lots of anticipation.

The dough, after sitting at room temperature for 18 hours:

After some quick shaping, and another 2-hour rest, the dough is plopped into a preheated (450-degree) dutch oven:

The lovely loaf!

I was thrilled to break the bread and find that it was filled with a soft interior, marked with holes!