The New York Times No-Knead Bread Recipe

By now a lot of you may have heard or read about this recipe created by Jim Leahy of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City and published by the NYT in 2006. Well, I am here to tell you that it has changed my life! Jim's recipe revolutionalized bread baking in that the kneading process was no longer neccessary. Kneading was replaced by a long rising period (18 hrs. ideally). I won't go into the whole story here but check out the article.

18 hours is a long time so you must kind of have your day planned out. I typically mix it up in the late afternoon and finish it up the following afternoon. This bread is nearly 24 hours from start to finish but again it just requires a little planning. Another tip I might offer is make sure your yeast is fresh and I recommend using a good quality flour like King Arthur. Whole wheat flour works too but is a little too "healthy" for my tastes.

Bread making has never been my strong suit and I had never really attempted it. There was always too much of a margin of error and there is so much good bread available in stores right now, why bother. But after giving it a try, I am now a bread baker! This recipe is foolproof and produces probably the best bread I have EVER tried (pictured above). It has given me confidence to try baking more advanced breads. You have to try this recipe and let us know what you think. Have fun and I hope it inspires you as much as it inspired me!