Almost No-Work Whole Grain Bread: Take One

"Almost No-Work." I like the sound of that. So I decided to give this recipe from Mark Bittman a go.

1) Combine 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast, 2 teaspoons salt and 3 cups whole wheat flour in a large bowl. I got fancy and used 2 cups whole wheat flour plus one cup dark rye flour.

2) Add 1 and 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; the dough should be quite wet and sticky but not liquid. At this point, I fretted over whether my dough was in fact wet and sticky enough. K advised me to "just go with it," so I did.

3) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for at least 12 and up to 24 hours. Well, my non-air-conditioned apartment should be warm enough. It's been in the mid-90's in Chicago the last few days. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Rising time will be shorter at warmer temperatures, or a bit longer if your kitchen is chilly. It was 9:30pm on Tuesday when I started the rise. As I left for work 11 hours later, the dough looked ready, but I wasn't. I had to hurry to the office, so the rise continued for 9 more hours, like it or not.

4) Measure about 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil. Use some of the oil to grease the loaf pan. If you like, add 1 cup chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit or proofed whole grains. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan, and use a rubber spatula gently to settle it in evenly. Brush the top with the remaining oil and sprinkle with cornmeal if you like. The surface of my dough was no longer dotted with bubbles when I got home from work on Wednesday. I quickly prepped it for the second rise, without adding any extras.

5) Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, an hour or two depending on the warmth of your kitchen. When it's almost ready, heat the oven to 350F.

6) Bake the bread until deep golden and hollow-sounding when tapped, about 45 minutes. I tapped it and it actually sounded hollow! Almost cavernous - hooray! Immediately turn out of the pan onto a rack and let it cool before slicing.

Here's a picture of my finished product.

A sight for sore eyes. K and I let it cool and then dug in. It tasted not bad at all. Dense and full-flavored, thanks at least in part to the dark rye. The recipe had warned that it would not make a very high loaf, but personally I prefer half-sandwiches, so that suits me just fine.

Here's a picture of K and I after enjoying the first few slices of my very first home-baked loaf of bread. We're pleased, as you can see. Delighted. Downright chummed.