Dutch oven, check

A couple of months ago I tried to make bread using the popular No-Knead Bread recipe from the New York Times.

Two things went wrong:
- The recipe clearly states the bread should rest for "at least 12 hours, preferably about 18". Unfortunately, I interpreted this to mean that it was okay for the bread to rest longer, so I left it for over 24 hours. Of course, all the yeast died, so the second rise didn't work.
- The bread is supposed to bake in a "heavy covered pot". I put the dough in one of my trusty non-stick Calphalon pots, happily stuck it in the oven, and went upstairs to work on other stuff while it baked. It wasn't until twenty minutes later, when I smelled burning plastic, that I realized the pot had plastic handles. I cooled off the handles with cold water and continued to bake for the requisite 30 minutes. My poor pot will no longer be the same.

All things considered, the bread turned out surprisingly well. It smelled absolutely delicious when it came out, and although it was denser than it would have been had the second rise worked, it was still yummy enough that we polished off the loaf in two days.

After that episode, I became obsessed with the idea of buying a Dutch oven. I do subscribe to Alton Brown's theory of not buying single function kitchen tools, but I convinced myself that there are lots of other things that can be made in a Dutch oven, like stews, roasted meats, etc. I did my usual crazy internet research thing for several weeks and finally decided to splurge on a Le Creuset, courtesy of multiple BB&B gift cards and one of those ubiquitous 20% coupons.

Of course, now I'm going to be out of town the next three weekends, so I guess I won't be attempting to bake bread again for awhile. Maybe I'll make some when my brother comes to visit in July; I hear he's quite the cook these days.