Really. I got this recipe from More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen. The batch I made today was not GREAT bread but it was GOOD bread. It rose a bit too much I think, so was a bit spongy in the middle, but the texture overall was quite good and it was totally easy.

Start the night before you want bread for dinner. I mixed this up in my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook. You could just as easily mix it together by hand, then knead.

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup wheat germ
6 cups white flour
1 Tbs salt
1/2 tsp yeast
3 cups tepid water

Grind the oatmeal in your blender. (I used the Magic Bullet thingy and it worked great!)

Mix together the oatmeal, wheat germ, flour, salt, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Knead on your breadboard with some flour. Then put it back in your large bowl. Mine was quite moist, batter-like even so I added some extra flour. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and go to bed.

The next morning, punch the dough down and divide it into two bread pans that you’ve buttered a bit. Cover with the tea towel again.

After work, heat the oven to 400, brush the tops of the bread with a bit of milk, then pop them into the oven for 40 minutes. Colwin said to turn once halfway through but I forgot that part. The dough rose very well, perhaps a bit too much. The loaves were rectangular rather than with the classic curved top.

But the taste was great! Sliced and toasted it was fantastic! Total active time invested: 15 minutes. I tried a “one hour” bread from Mark Bittman and this is sort of the opposite approach. His idea was do a quick rise then bake. This has two really long rises. I like this better, but you do have to think a day ahead.