So as I was saying yesterday, I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time during this holiday season/lack of employment period searching out old recipes I wanted to revisit, as well as new ones.

One thing you need to know about me is my love for soup – ANY kind of soup, cream, broth, chowder, you name it – and Bread. Oh thank the Heavens above I am not the recipient of gluten allergies (sorry to those of you who are). I could literally live on bread and soup alone. And with a few minor ingredients lying around your house, almost anything can become soup.

And bread. I had the opportunity a few years back to stumble onto a no-knead bread that you baked in the oven in a Dutch Oven, creating (supposedly) this deep, crisp crust.

The problem was, mine never came out that way. I mean, it was good, just not great. Until now.

My lovely and uber talented friend/work buddy Flora posted a no knead bread recipe in her amazing blog, The Urban Domestic Diva, and it got me revisiting some of the recipes I had tried already. I finally realized why my bread failed to achieve that incredible crust; I hadn’t let the dough just sit. I mean really, really sit.

So yesterday after starting my other two recipes that I shared with you, I attempted once again to create the crusty, heavenly bread with little to no effort. This meant making the dough yesterday mid-day and letting it sit, untouched on my counter, overnight. Popped it in the oven this morning and O.M.G. THIS is the bread I aspired to create. Crusty, chewy. Delicious. 4 ingredients. 18 hours + cooking time.

Trust me. Try this bread. Make yourself have patience. It’s truly worth it. And then share this with your favorite soup and your favorite people. They will thank you. Your tummy will thank you.

No-Knead Bread

(Recipe courtesy of JoCooks.com)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 3/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

• 1 1/2 cups water room temperature

Directions

1 In a big bowl mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Pour water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon mix it until well incorporated.

2 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours. It should look like this

3 Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Add your cast iron pot to the oven as it’s heating and heat it as well until it’s at 450 F degrees.

4 Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid from it. If you want to make sure your bread doesn’t stick to the pot you can sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.

5 Flour your hands really well and also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it into the pot. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.

6 Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

7 Remove the bread from the pot, it should fall out easily. Let cool completely before slicing into it and serving.