Two Excellent Bread Recipes

I had a couple of great bread making success recently - easy recipes with delicious results.  Aren't those the best?  I found both recipes in a quest for a rustic, crunchy, chewy bread.  One is apparently a now-famous New York Times recipe that is so incredibly easy that I highly recommend it as a confidence boost if you're having a crap day (only plan ahead a little - it's easy, but it has to laze about a while before baking).  The other recipe made these lovely loaves.

Aaaaaand, I can't find the recipe.  Ugh.  (internal dialog: It's call "favorites," bone-head.  Use it! )  Anyway, I've searched like a crazy person to find the stupid recipe again, but all in vain.  And I'm a professional searcher!  Apparently the history setting on our I.E. is on one day.  Well, I am geekily proud of these loaves so I'll just post another pretty picture of them, then get onto the recipe I am smart enough to remember.

And for the easy peasy, re-dunculous delicious one!  Get this:  it's no knead!  You truly dump the ingredients together, stir, then as Alton Brown is always saying you, "walk away."  Let the yeast do its thang, and then throw it in the oven.  It starts out very sticky, shaggy goopy.

                                          

Then after about four hours it looks even weirder.

After the big nap it gets to take, you preheat your oven, and a dutch oven or large covered casserole dish for 30 minutes.  During that 30 minutes, you knock down the dough a little and let it rest again (this is the most lazy-ass dough I've ever met, but I can't argue with the results).  Finally!  You take out your raging hot dutch oven, slide the dough in, then bake covered for 30 minutes, then un-covered for 15 more.  While you're going crazy for buttery, yummy bread smells, it's browning like it's on vacation.  When it's all said and done you get this!

 Crunchy, chewy on the outside, spongy soft on the inside.  So amazingly right with butter.  You have to try this.  Four simple ingredients and one perfect bread!