Well, we've made at least four batches of this no knead bread. It's really GOOD! Yesterday morning we turned out our first batch of no knead sourdough bread. It came out very well. I suspected, however, that when they said that one only has to use a 1/4 cup of sourdough starter instead of a 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast (no mention of baking soda), for this bread, that they were using "fake sourdough." "Fake sourdough," is simply a yeast culture, used like sourdough, but which started with packaged yeast. "Real sourdough" starts out as a "captured yeast culture," without any commercial yeast added. It tends to be stronger than packaged yeast. So, when we did our sourdough no knead bread, we added 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the batter. It worked. I might even try 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda, since our sourdough was, well... a little sour. Still, it's good enough that I have to be careful not to eat too much! The beauty of the no knead method is that one can through it together in less than 10 minutes. Let sit for at least 18 hours (I have let it sit 24 hours) and then there's less than five minutes of work before a 1 1/2 hour rise and one pops it in the oven. 45 minutes after that presto! One has a really crispy tasty bread, very much like a good French bread. It's very little work, but one does need to time things. George

Dough hooks tend to aerate dough too much, that's a food fact, as well as an opinion. If you have a Zojirushi bread machine, I'd suggest using it for kneading, or a food processor. It's also about the type of flour used, which is milled from durum wheat (semolina or durum flour), not hard and soft wheat (all-purpose or bread flour). The difference is in the dominate protein from the gluten group. The two types of protein that make up the prolamins are glutenins and gliadins. Durum wheat, the wheat with the highest amount of protein, has a dominance for gliadins necessary for good pasta, but it's not the correct protein for yeast breads. Flour used for breads (hard wheat, or a combination of hard and soft wheat) have a dominance of glutenins for extensibility. Check a pasta box for ingredients and it nearly always says durum flour. Semolina is derived from durum, it's just a coarse grind from the endosperm of the grain (bran and germ removed). Whole wheat pasta is made with the entire grain of durum milled into a flour or a coarse grind to resemble semolina. I mill durum wheat into a flour or a coarse grind (similar to fine cornmeal) using my Nutrimill, which is what I use for noodles or pasta, and my Zojirushi bread machine for kneading. A bread machine is designed to knead dough without aerating it. You use flour for noodles and semolina for pasta, which is another simple tip. -Grainlady

This is the mixing and kneading procedure that I use with my 25+ year old Kitchen Aid mixer. This is from The Bread Book by Betsy Oppenneer. I only use speed #4 for kneading sparingly. It is best to follow the directions in your manual. But the rest of the directions have worked very well for me. Mixing and Kneading Bread in a Heavy Duty Electric Mixer 1. Put dry yeast and proofing water into mixer bowl; whisk, proof yeast. [not essential when using instant yeast] 2. Fit mixer paddle on. 3. Add rest of liquid ingredients (milk, eggs, butter) to the yeast/water. 4. Add half of the flour amount of the recipe and any other dry ingredients. 5. Turn mixer on medium speed (#4 on KA) and beat 2 minutes to mix the ingredients. 6. Reduce speed to low (#1) and add rest of flour 1/4 cup at time. 7. Remove paddle, scrape well. Attach dough hook. 8. Scrape down sides of bowl, turn speed to #2 and add more flour 1 TB at a time (dough will cling to hook then spread back to sides of bowl). 9. Increase speed to #4 (or stay at speed #2) and knead 5 minutes. At the end of this kneading time the dough should cling to the hook and clean the sides of the bowl. If not, add flour 1 TB at a time, until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, let rise per the recipe, or turn out dough, knead by hand a few times, form into a ball, drizzle a little oil in the mixing bowl, put dough in, swirl in bowl and turn oiled side up, cover, let rise.

I immediately thought of Annie's kitchen when I saw this post. Almost every new built or renovation the past 10-15 years has a baking station or an end extension often harking back to the ye olde 'butchers block'. The neighborhood butcher. The big block where they butchered with thick turned legs. Table height, chair height, counter height, are a standard not a rule. For good reason so appliances will fit. But no reason we can't accommodate ourselves especially for specific needs. And why not build the entire island 4 inches lower than counter height. like many are doing in a counter run or side. Coffee stations, blenders, juicers, baking, grinding (meat and grain), even chopping/meal prep is often best 3-4 inches lower. My blender base is built into my counter. it is dreamy and so much easier to use with the blender jar right on the counter. Perfect height. I'm 5'7 and still like doing many tasks lower. Especially all the tasks I mentioned above. if I was 5' I would definitely have a lower entire island and have a kitchen counter run at standard height. Sink run lower. DH at 6'1 likes a bit higher than standard. So we have 2 and 1/2 foot long 2" high butcher block at both homes for his baking prep station. he just moves them to wherever he choses to work. lots of pics like your pull-out step. I think I used 'kitchen counter toe kick step' in a google image search. Any good cabinet maker could make one easily. lots of hardware choices to keep it rolling out smooth and not damage the floor. I would want to be able to pull out with my foot and push it back in same. One I saw used library step-stool wheels. For a pull out if you have the room, I'd rather have the entire cabinet pull out. (needs a back cleat/stop so you can push your rolling pin back and out of the way without rolling off and to contain flour) Personally I would just build into the counter a lower baking station. A counter depth butcher block could easily slide on a backsplash cleat towards the sink covering your baking station and making your counter back to standard. All but one of our baking recipes could rest/proof right where they are and out of the way. My gut renovation station is based on the old Hoosier cabinets. (all were 3-4 inches lower than todays counter height)...I have one in the barn. I have the exact one in the link, [HERE[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/must-know-furniture-the-hoosier-cabinet-stsetivw-vs~39817241) ,the first pic. Mine will be a custom built-in and 30inches deep. That renovation is on hold as I can't bare the disruption, ; ). An 1880 seaside saltbox that functions fine as-is for now. Vacation home.