A few weeks ago I ran across a recipe for no-knead bread in the New York Times that I just had to try: instead of kneading the dough, you let it rise for 18 hours. I like kneading bread, but the idea of ignoring it while doing other things instead appeals to me (same reason I like the crockpot). I’ve made the recipe a few times now.
The scheduling isn’t any trickier than scheduling regular bread, and I don’t have to scrub the counter so I can knead on it. The dough (just flour, yeast, and water) is super-sticky, though, and I haven’t yet managed to get it from the towel it’s supposed to rise on into the pot it’s supposed to bake in without a big struggle. Last time I tried wax paper but it still stuck, even with a thick coating of flour.
The bread bakes in a dutch oven, which is supposed to give it a great crust, which is nice if you like crust… I would try making it just on a sheet, but I think the loaf would spread into a giant blob and flop onto the bottom of the oven. (The article accompanying the recipe has photos in which the baker’s balls of dough are actually ball-shaped. I’m not sure how he managed that.)
Anyway, good bread, which I’ll make again soon.
Other tasty things I’ve made lately: two iterations of squash soup (this is amazing, why haven’t I made it before?), beef stew, pork posole.