Bread--no knead method #2

What can I say about this second method of kneadless bread making? I'm just so excited about it. Perhaps the writers among you will accept this analogy: There is always danger in talking about a paper or a story you're about to write. The danger is that in expressing it orally, you will lose the desire to express it in written form. And that's my problem. I'm so INCREDIBLY excited about this recipe that I've talked about nothing else for about 3 days straight. Now I'm not sure if I can write about it. I just want to make it and eat it and love it...oh, and I'm not tired of talking about it yet. :)

So I'll leave it to the NY Times to give you the specific recipe and I'll simply describe the method.

I'm so excited, I don't know where to begin....

Here's the idea: you mix up a lot of wet dough (enough to make approximately 4 small loaves...6 cups of flour's worth, if that gives you any idea) using a spoon or your hands or whatever. Then you leave it out to rise for 4 hours or so. Then you put it in the refrigerator. It will store for up to 2 weeks. Whenever you want AWESOME homemade bread (and I do mean awesome) you cut off a grapefruit sized piece, let it set for about 40 min and bake it. Perfection! That's it.

How does it compare to the other no knead recipe? I'm glad you asked. The crust is the same...very...crusty (though I learned that a "crackling crust" refers to the sound it makes when it comes out of the oven...like rice crispies only louder). The texture of the "crumb" is also the same (I also learned that the name for this texture is a "custard crumb"). The only real difference is that the flavor resembles sour dough a little bit more than the first recipe. When my sexy husband tried it, the first words out of his mouth were "oh, wow" --in a good way. Though, when pressed, he said he likes the first bread better because he doesn't prefer sour dough bread. I LOVE sour dough bread with an extra crusty crust. So this was all me.

Oh! And for those of you who, like my sexy husband, don't prefer sour dough bread: this was a REALLY mild sour dough taste that was almost neutralized by some butter or sandwich ingredients.

At the expense of the skin on one of his thumbs my sexy husband cut the top off the little loaf, then sliced it lenghwise for our sprout sandwiches on still-warm-from-the-oven homemade bread...with crusty crust on the whole bottom!

"Oh, wow!"

If you're at all interested in trying bread making, I HIGHLY recommend this method. It doesn't even require a covered pot this time. :)