Mark Bittman’s no-knead bread recipe (based on Jim Lahaney’s method) is billed as idiot-proof, but it’s really not. Or maybe it is, but idiots like me aren’t very good at it. The first couple of times I tried it, I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with a bland, dry bread. [...]

As regular readers know, I’ve been experimenting with homemade bread for months now. My early results ranged from inedible to palatable. Some loaves even went directly from the oven to the trash can. In retrospect, I handicapped my learning process by adopting and abandoning several different methods and recipes before perfecting one. [...]

Like I’ve said before, I’m trying to get better at baking bread. Last week I tried a no-knead ciabatta recipe and was only somewhat pleased with the results. I decided I’d try again, so I made another batch of dough on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, the dough was ready for the oven. [...]

As I recently mentioned, I’ve been trying to get better at making bread. I haven’t been having much luck. I think the kneading is the problem, so I decided to remove that step from the equation. I found this “no-knead ciabatta bread” video/recipe at the Food Wishes blog and decided it was [...]

To conclude our Labor Day staycation, my wife decided to try out some recipes form the latest issue of Gourmet:

We made a chili-crusted pork tenderloin with roasted tomatillo salsa, a side dish of bulgur with herbs, and some provolone popovers.