No Knead Bread

My KitchenAid stand mixer has been broken for several months (I remember when we got it as a wedding gift, all these little old ladies told me about how those things NEVER break... either I overused mine - which is quite possible - or they don't make them like they used to). I used to make bread pretty much ever weekend, but stopped when I no longer had my handy dough hook contraption to help me with the kneading.

And then I came across this.

I had to try it! And I'm so glad I did. I started the dough last night, then finished the bread today - between church and running afternoon errands - just in time for dinner. (sorry my camera battery dead and we were hungry - so these are iPhone pics)

As I've mentioned I think in every blog post and conversation for weeks, it's really crazy HOT here. So hot, that it's been a huge chore to cook dinner every night (something I normally love doing). I had the great idea to just have sandwiches for dinner tonight. It was a great idea, because everyone loved it. It was not a great idea for keeping the house cool, since I actually baked the bread today and my 450 degree oven was on for a couple of hours in the afternoon, heating up the whole house just like when I cook a normal meal.

We had cold cuts and pickles and olives with our fresh bread. On the side we had a big salad with mixed greens, feta cheese, walnuts, and dried cranberries. And some Veggie Pirate's Booty, because I bought it today and the kids insisted on having some right away. Oh and watermelon - straight out of the freezer!

The bread was pretty darn perfect, with a thick very crusty crust, just the way I like it. This is a teeny bit (okay, a lot) ironic, but I actually think our house was a tad too cool during the rise last night, so next time I will put the dough in a warmer spot overnight. The laundry room would be perfect, since we're drying diapers in the dryer in there every night.

The bread also made for some great dinner conversation. I was telling Davis how this dough required no kneading (unlike Julia Child's crusty French bread, which requires 100 whacks on the counter!) Sophia asked how I made it, and I explained that it was just flour, water, yeast, and salt. She yelled "YEAST!" and proceed to explain about how yeast makes bread rise, but the Israelites didn't have time for their bread to rise when they left Egypt, so they just had flat bread (Vacation Bible School last week!)

Happy Sunday! Try this bread sometime - it's pretty darn easy and yummy, even if it does heat up the kitchen.