Cook's Illustrated tried this recipe and revised it slightly. Here's their version: Almost No-Knead Bread Revision by CookÂs Illustrated, January/February 2008 Note: Best eaten same day, but can be wrapped in foil and stored in cool, dry place for up to 2 days 3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting work surface 1/4 tsp instant yeast 1-1/2 tsp table salt 3/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp water (7 ounces) at room temp 1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp (3 ounces) mild-flavored lager, like Budweiser, OR a non-alcoholic lager 1 Tblsp white vinegar 1. Whisk flour, yeast and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from the bottom of bowl, until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8-18 hours 2. Lay a 12/x18" sheet of parchment paper inside a 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into a ball by pulling edges into the middle. 3. Transfer dough, seam side down, to parchment-lined skillet. Spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours 4. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position and place a 6-8 qt Dutch oven with the lid on, onto the rack. Heat oven to 500 degrees. 5. Lightly flour top the dough. Using a sharp knife, make a 6" long slit along the top of the dough. After 30 minutes, carefully remove Dutch Oven and open lid. Pick up dough by parchment overhand and lower it into the pot, allowing any excess parchment to hang over edge. Cover pot again and put back into the oven. 6. Reduce heat to 425 degrees. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and bake until loaf is deep brown, 20-30 minutes longer. An instant read thermometer inserted into center should register 210 degrees. 7. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and let cool to room temp, about 2 hours.

Hi yes I have used the Bread Machine Yeast in the Challah. They call it rapid rise but it is more like Acitve Dry. Yeast is SO confusing !! This will make 3 braids. There are lots of great YouTube videos of braids. Your DD will love looking at some of them for ideas :) Challah is the perfect bread for grilled cheese sandwiches...never will you find better ! It is also wonderful for French toast and croutons when it gets stale. Bread pudding also. Can't go wrong with Challah. I do have a good whole wheat . I will get it out and type it in. You really need to get your starter going and then make SD with a soaker...that means you take the whole grains and soak them overnight. It accomplishes several things. The most important is that the grains are way more digestible and also you get so much more nutrition from the flours and grains when they interact with the enzymes in the SD and you retard the loaves overnight for the bake the next day. The price for Bob's Red Mill on Amazon is great ! You can also sign up for the regular shipments to save even more. They have the bulk yeast too and all is free shipping. Walmart has the best buttermilk. It is called Bulgarian Buttermilk and has more good bacteria in it . Very thick and wonderful. You can use the powdered or just add vinegar or lemon to milk but it isn't nearly as tasty or thick. I have some great rye breads. Will add those too. Please take a look at Wild Yeast Blog..she has a lot of breads that aren't sourdough also . c

bbstx, don't give up. I did make the no-knead bread (twice, in fact) and just wasn't impressed with flavor or texture, so I went back to traditional bread, but a lot of people love it. I never tried it with beer, that might make a difference in flavor. I don't use a scale for anything, I learned to bake bread by "feel". Even in the bread machine, I'll measure ingredients according to the recipe and then check the dough. Sometimes it needs more flour, sometimes more liquid, depending on the flour, the humidity, many factors. I just made breadsticks last night from a King Arthur recipe which is usually pretty much "right on" and had to add nearly 1/2 cup of water because it was too crumbly. I'm blaming the Gold Medal bread flour I'm stuck with for that. That said, a lot of people use a scale and like that method. I'd still have to check the dough to see if it was "right", LOL, so it would do me no good to weigh the stuff, but if you think that will work for you and you have space to store the thing, I've seen some that weren't too expensive. Annie

Yes Kathleen and only someone who knows the island would know that! I take it from your user name that you're from LI as well...where abouts? The original recipe is as follows. Cook's added beer, vinegar, and a quick knead before the final rise. Sue No-Knead Bread Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery Time: About 1.5 hours plus 14 to 20 hours rising 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 1 1/4 teaspoons salt Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed. 1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. 2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. 3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger. 4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. Yield: One 1.5 pound loaf.