I've made some straightforward bread recipes in my time but nothing like this. I was very proud to have made this (other than the white flour aspect) and will definitely try it again and play around with the ingredients (different flours, nut or fruit additions).
I watched this video by Mark Bittman of the New York Times to get prepared for baking. I followed the ingredient amounts in the video but my experience only produced one smallish loaf in a (much) smaller crock pot (they obviously made multiple recipes). We found the crust was spectacular as he sells it, if a little tough. Less cooking time perhaps?
No-knead bread
Mix in a large bowl:
3 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Add:
1 1/2 cup of water
Pull it all together (with your hands!) then let rest in the bowl for 12-16+ hours. (I put plastic over the dough while it was rising to avoid unwanted crusty bits pre-baking.)
Remove dough from bowl and lightly pat it onto a floured surface (or wheat germ). Fold end to end and then opposite end to end and flip dough (crease side down) onto wheat germ. Pop the dough (crease side down) into the very hot crockpot in a 500 degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes with lid on, then remove the lid and bake another 20 minutes to brown nicely.
