Crusty "No-Knead" Bread

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven? Yes...bread that you don't have to knead over and over, that you don't have to worry about rising improperly, that you don't have to worry about being too soggy on the outside or too dry on the inside. And this is it...it just requires some forethought the night before to get the dough going, and you can bake it off the next morning.

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Instant or Rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups water

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast.
2. Add water and mix until dough forms (it will look shaggy).
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 to 18 hours (overnight is great).

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Place cast-iron dutch oven (with the lid) in the oven, and heat for 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, remove dough onto a floured surface and shape into a ball.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit while the pot heats.

8. Remove pot from oven and drop in the dough. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and place bread on wire rack to cool.

*Note: I only tried a generic white bread. But the blog where I found the recipe suggests some of the following combinations: cheese breads (pepperjack, sharp cheddar, asiago), jalapeno cheddar, raisin/walnut/cinnamon, pumpkin seed/sunflower seed/poppy seed, rosemary/lemon/gruyere, lemon/thyme/asiago, mixed herb (rosemary, chive, thyme).
**She suggested the following sample measurements for a loaf: to the recipe above, add 3/4 cup dried cranberries, zest of one orange, and 1/2 cup sliced almonds. Mix and add the 1 1/2 cups water.
***Another variation measurement: zest one lemon, chopped rosemary, 1 1/4 cups shredded Gruyere.