Artisan Bread

Mike got me a bread maker over Christmas and while we are thoroughly enjoying the awesome concoctions that have come out of it, we are both kind of missing that delicious, crusty, artisan bread we used to buy at the market.

Sooo, this weekend I finally broke down and tried the famous NY Times No Knead bread recipe. All I can do is kick myself for not trying it, you know, like 4 years ago when I first read about it. Just think of all the delicious bread I could have been making all these years! But, I digress.

This bread is so easy to make and oh so good. If you have waited years to try it like me, or maybe this is the first time you have ever even heard about it, stop wasting time reading this post and go make the bread, like right now!

But, like all good things, especially those that take little to no effort on your part, this bread takes time to do it's thing (hence the "no kneading"), like 12 to 18 hours, so don't expect the smell of fresh baked bread to start wafting through your house in the next couple of hours.

When the bread is complete, it's totally worth the time you had to wait for it. If you don't consume the whole thing in one sitting (it took much restraint on our part to do so), keep in mind that there is no fat in this recipe so the bread will go stale VERY quickly. However, it's still an excellent candidate for toasting, as I did the next day and enjoyed with nutella* and a cup of Earl Gray.   

Photo: This Handmade Life

*If you are lucky enough to have European relatives as we do, and they ever ask you what they can bring you from Europe when they come to visit the states, tell them to bring you nutella from their country.  Soooo much better than the U.S. produced stuff which is oily and full of process.  Trust me, there is a BIG difference in taste.