Oh yes, I used to hate baking, but now I love Jim Lahey. The New York Times published an article that changed bread making as I knew it in 2006, and if you are terrified of yeast like I'm terrified of yeast you should really read it. This recipe is very slightly altered from Lahey's own, and its no-kneadyness has always treated me very well.
3 cups of flour + extra for dusting (I used whole wheat bread flour - it's nice to stay "regular")
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 5/8 cup warm water
optional:
2/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 tsp dried oregano
I love olive bread so I used (duh) olives and some oregano, however you can put in or not put in whatever the hell you like. Some other favorites of mine have been walnuts, asiago cheese, jalepenos, and sundried tomatoes. But I digress...
Mix everything together, cover your bowl in plastic wrap, and let it sit for 12-18 hours. Dump it out onto a well floured surface and fold it over onto itself a couple of times. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Fold it into a more compact lump once again and then cover with a tea towel for another 2 hours for the final rise.
Put a dutch oven or other heavy covered pot into your oven and preheat for 450 degrees about 30 minutes prior to baking. Once preheated, flop in the dough and bake covered for 30 minutes. Don't worry if you've schlepped your dough into the pot all lopsided, just kind of shake it around into place and everything will work itself out while it cooks. I like shaping mine into boules, however folding it into a lumpy square as previously illustrated works very well, just use a well-floured tea towel to turn your dough out into the pot, seam side up. If you shape a boule, you'll want to place the dough into the pot seam side down. The original recipe instructs to follow the initial 30 minutes of covered baking with another 15+ minutes of uncovered baking until the crust is well browned, but despite the fact that I bake things in a derelict piece of crap, I've only ever needed an extra 10 minutes.
Right, let's review then:
1) Mix, leave for 12 hours.
2) Fold, leave for 15 minutes.
3) Fold, leave for 2 hours.
4) Bake.
Believe me, this is the closest you'll get to procuring good eats by clapping your hands and shouting "BREAD ON". Rest assured that its deliciousness guarantees "BREAD OFF" an even easier feat than its predecessing command.
