No-knead bread, Cooks Illustrated style

I haven't been baking too much lately, most recently because of the summer heat (no A/C) and the fact I have been playing instead with my precious new ice cream machine(!). And when I have been baking this summer, it has mostly been bread. All of which I have been very very bad at taking pictures of, and thus the lull in writing, but I did get my act together recently to bring you one of my latest installments in home bread baking.

While I've been flirting with the whole idea of trying out the natural starter/old-school methods of making bread for awhile now, I think I'm going to do a little more reading and research before embarking on such a commitment. In the meanwhile, I am pretty happy to continue playing with the many variations of no-knead breads that have developed over the last 5 years.

The good folks over at Cooks Illustrated tried their hand at developing their take on the technique of no-knead bread. They made several interesting changes, including decreasing the water content, adding some beer and a tiny bit of vinegar to the liquids, and adding a tiny short kneading step during the loaf forming step after the initial long rise. This combination resulted in a rich, flavorful bread with a handsomely chewy crust. If anything, it is almost too assertive in having its own flavor; I might need to dial back on the salt on this loaf next time. This loaf has enough personality to run the show. It'd almost be wasted if used as a meal accompaniment and may well overwhelm dishes of milder character, but it works really well with a sweet spread or hearty sandwich filling (we tried egg and cheese and heirloom tomato, yum!). It's definitely worth a try if you're thinking of baking up a no-knead loaf. And certainly my husband was more than happy help me finish off the rest of the bottle of beer!

I followed the recipe as given here.