Nothing smells quite like bread baking in your own oven. But, other than a short-lived bread machine I received as a Christmas gift back in college, I have never really attempted to bake my own. A couple of years ago I saved a bookmark on Mark Bittman’s NYTimes blog “Bitten” for a recipe for “No-Knead Bread” that promised perfect, yet easy to make bread. Basically, it takes time, but little thought.

Today I baked my first loaf, modifying the recipe a little using some guidance from a Cook’s Illustrated magazine article.

And it will not be the last!

“Almost No-Knead Bread”

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 oz) of room temp. water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 oz) of mild-flavored lager
1 tablespoon white vinegar

The secret to this recipe is using a pre-warmed cast-iron Dutch oven to cook the loaf in after leaving it to rise for 12-18 hours. The original recipe called for the flour, yeast, salt and water only. But some complained that, while easy to do, the flavor lacked a little complexity. Cook’s Illustrated modified the recipe by adding the beer–lager, specifically for reasons related to how this beer is fermented, contains flavor compounds similar to those in the dough starter, and boosts the flavor of the bread–and a little vinegar to add some tanginess.

You start by whisking the flour, yeasty and salt in a large bowl. Then you add the water, beer and vinegar and fold the mixture in with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough ball forms. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

Next you lay a sheet of parchment paper over a 10″ skillet and spray it with cooking spray. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it 10-15 times, shaping it into a ball. Put it seam side down into the skillet and cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature again for about two hours. It will have doubled in size and won’t spring back readily when you poke it.

Thirty minutes before you’re ready to cook the loaf, put your oven rack at the lowest level, turn the heat on to 500 degrees and put in the Dutch oven (with lid) to warm up. Once the pot is nice and hot, you lightly flour the top of the bread and cut a 6-inch long, 1/2-inch deep slit in the top of the dough.

Here’s where the parchment paper and skillet does their trick. In order to get the dough down into the dangerously hot Dutch oven, you simply lift it using the parchment paper as a sling and lower the whole thing down into the pot. Replace the lid tightly, put it back into the oven, now lowered to 425 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. At this point, remove the lid and continue to bake until the loaf is deep brown and an instant-read thermometer reads 210 degrees at its center. This will be 20 to 30 minutes longer.

Finally, remove the bread carefully from the pot and transfer it to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. All the while, standing around staring at it and holding a drool cup under your lips.