I'm Making Bread!

I'm making bread. Right now. (Yes, seriously.)

Many bloggers have been claiming to be the last person on the planet who has not tried Mark Lahey's No-Knead Bread. But, all those bloggers are in New York. Or L.A. Or other places where people just seem to move a little faster to keep up with the neighbors, and all their neighbors have been making this bread for a year! (Since November 2006, precisely.)

The secret behind good bread is a good long kneading process- gets all the gluten molecules lined up in nice neat rows, makes for a good stretchy smooth dough, and a great bread. This bread doesn't do that- in fact you don't knead it AT ALL. You barely touch it. What you DO do is make an exceptionally wet dough, and let it rise for 18 hours. With all that moisture, the gluten molecules just mosey together on their own. They're mobile that way, doncha know.

So I'm joining the band wagon, and my bread should be ready for shaping sometime early tomorrow morning. I've been promised almost a sourdough taste (despite only using 1/4 tsp of yeast), a "shatteringly crisp" crust (thanks to baking it in a pot), and an "insanely yummy" bread. All this from flour, salt, yeast, water, and almost an entire day of letting something sit around in the bowl or oven! I have very high hopes. I'll let you know how it turns out, or why don't you take 2 minutes and whip up your own batch?

See y'all tomorrow! (Wish you were here...except you, Nana and Grandpa. Wish WE were THERE in Mexico with you! Hope you're having a blast. Don't drink the water. Or let it get in your ears. Right, Dad?)