each month, i look forward to the bread baking day challenge.  this month, we are baking no-knead breads thanks to cindystar, our lovely hostess.  if you have paid any attention to baking bloggers in recent months, then you most likely have heard about the no-knead bread from jim lahey of sullivan street bakery in new york city.  it was made famous by none other than mark bittman when he wrote about it in his new york times column.  as skeptical as i am, and trust me i am, i was sure this wasn’t going to work out well. bread loaves that aren’t kneaded, how could that possibly work out?  then i stumbled upon the recipe posted by jaden hair of the steamy kitchen.  the photos of her too cute 4 year old son andrew making bread had me thinking-if he can do it, certainly i can too.

 i didn’t take photos of the bread as i mixed it but this is the dough after sitting for the required 12- 20 hours.  i turned it out, shaped it and wrapped it in a cloth to rest again.

 my thrift store find-an enameled roaster with a cover.  it was a lucky day for me, the roaster was on sale for 50% off which made it less than $7.

my success with the first loaf and the fact that it disappeared quickly had me baking another loaf in no  time.  for this loaf, i substituted 1/3 of the bread flour with whole wheat flour and it baked up beautifully.  this bread is so easy and inexpensive to make that i intend to try it with different flours and i encourage anyone who makes it to do so as well!

whole wheat flour adds a little color and texture to the loaf