No-knead Dutch oven bread

Despite the name -- and the technique -- this recipe makes far and away the best loaf I've ever made home. The crust is deep golden brown, and so crisp that it crackles and sings as it cools on the counter. The interior has large air pockets, an open structure, and a nice chewiness. The recipe appeared in the Jan/Feb 2008 Cook's Illustrated.

So far, I've only tried it with water in place of the beer, but it's still quite good that way. Supposedly the beer enhances the flavor further, but only very mild lager beers -- anything else adds weird spicy notes. And although I usually use King Arthur flours, Cook's develops their recipes with Gold Medal (if I remember correctly). So I can use basically any old unbleached all-purpose flour, which is nice since my local grocery charges double for the King Arthur stuff :(

As for timing, I start the dough in the late evening, shape it in the early afternoon of the next day, and then eat it with dinner. You pretty much have to be home the day of the baking, although there's very little active time.

In a large bowl, combine into a shaggy dough

1. 15 oz unbleached all-purpose flour (such as Gold Medal), a bit more than 3 cups
2. 1/4 t instant or bread-machine yeast
3. 1.5 t salt
4. 7 oz water
5. 3 oz mild lager (such as Budweiser), or 3 oz water
6. 1 T white or apple cider vinegar

Stir just until the dough comes together into a shaggy ball, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours. (Yes, really. The long rise is essential for autolysis and gluten development.)

Grease a sheet of parchment paper and greased side up in a 10" skillet. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and kneed 10 - 15 times, then shape into a ball and place on the parchment. (So little kneeding is necessary due to the extra long autolysis.) Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise 2 hours, until doubled in size.

30 minutes before baking, place a 6 - 8 qt Dutch oven or heavy stockpot in the oven and preheat to 500 F. Make a 6" long, 1/2" deep cut in the top of the bread, then gently transfer to the hot pot by lifting the edges of the parchment. Replace the lid, return to the oven, and decrease heat to 425 F. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove lid. Bake another 20 - 30 minutes, until dark golden brown or interior temperature hits 210 F. Transfer to wire rack and cool 2 hours. Best the day it's made, but keeps up to 2 days wrapped in foil.