I use a bread machine for the mixing, kneading, and everything except the final rise. I remove it from the bread machine and bake in the oven. Not baking in the bread machine seems to avoid the heavy block of bread.

King Arthur here too. Sometimes I get whole wheat flour from the health food store, but it's a bit more dense than we like.

Thanks for all of the tips. Good to know about the water and ice cubes. Also good to know that someone else has experienced the heavy block of bread that comes out of the bread machine. I thought maybe it was my bread machine.
I saw that King Arthur Flour is a little more expensive so I'll have to bite the bullet and get it anyhow.

I wish I had a dutch oven or a covered 2.5 qt. corning ware dish. I don't have anything with a lid that would withstand the oven. I have some stainless steel dutch ovens but they have a black plastic handle (Rival). These were given to us as wedding gifts 40 years ago and still work like a charm. I wouldn't want to take a risk of putting them in the oven. I'll have to visit a few garage sales or check on Ebay for a dutch oven.

I used to make the no knead bread before moving down here. I'm originally from Holland, and the best pan to bake it in was my dutch oven. You can now order these in the states, and are reasonably priced. Here's a link (they have different sizes)
BK Pan Blue Interior 22cm from http://www.thedutchstore.com

Is the handle in the middle of the cover? I'll bet you can unscrew it and replace it with something that is metal that you pick up at a hardware store. As long as you can grab it with a pot holder it can even be an eye bolt.

Thanks Tom for the tip. I found a great deal on a Dutch oven on Ebay for $39. Saw the same one at Belk today for $83. It's my mother's Day gift to myself. I see the Pioneer Woman use hers alot on TV. She makes her soups and stews with it so it will have a double use for me as I make lots of types of soups. Maybe the next topic I will post will be share your favorite soup recipes. There are more cooks out in TOTV land than I ever thought. The first few years of living here we ate out most of the time. Now I've found that I like my home made cooking much better but still eat out to socialize. I bought the King Arthur flour today and two types of yeast, regular and quick rising so I'm ready to bake bread. My bread cookbook comes tomorrow. My friends love it when I get on a cooking kick. They all benefit from it.

It's Bread!
 

I made a large batch of dough today using the recipe for no-knead white bread on the Kingarthurflour.com website. This is the first loaf of bread I have ever made. It turned out great and took only about 15 minutes to mix up and there is enough dough for at least two more loaves of bread! I mixed it by hand because it is a no-knead recipe it was simple. I'm attaching a photo. So far we have had it with just butter, butter and strawberry jelly and for dinner we dipped it in olive oil and herbs. It's a very good recipe. I plan to use some of the dough to make cinnamon rolls with pecans (also the recipe on the same website).

Great job! Makes my mouth water!

It looks beautiful! I bet it won't be the last loaf you make, either.:MOJE_whot:

It looks delicious.
Did you use a dutch oven?
http://i58.tinypic.com/23ht3ee.jpg
Would this work? It's the wrong shape and the lid is oven proof but it's glass [as you can see]

I didn't use the dutch oven recipe so I just lightly oiled a cookie sheet and put the bread on it, put another cookie sheet on the second rack and put a cup of hot water in it. The hot water on the bottom rack makes a nice crust on the bread. I did see a recipe made for a dutch oven which I plan to use some of the time.

I don't know if that would work since I don't have experience with that dutch oven recipe and don't know how your pan would do in the oven.

You can also use a pizza stone instead of a cookie sheet. Makes a nice crust at the bottom. Happy to see that you made a bread and were successful. King Arthur recipes are easy to follow. If you buy anything from their shop, buy the instant yeast, and then keep it in your fridge. It makes your baking so much easier. No mixing with water and waiting around.

Yesterday I made their chocolate chips cookies. It has some oatmeal in the recipe. It made the best recipe for 2014. These cookies are the best cookies I have ever made. I do buy my chocolate chips from King Arthur though as there is a difference in quality. Their vanilla bean paste is very tasty too, and you can pick that up at The Fresh Market.

Monday I am making their flat bread. Great for hot grilled chicken sandwiches, and for individual pizzas. Their recipe makes 8 pieces. I guess you see I bake year round. I enjoy it. Have fun!

Anyone find a gluten free recipe?

Vanilla bean paste at Fresh Market? I have looked there for it but not found it. I did buy some special vanilla bean crush from KA but haven't used it yet. It has vanilla beans and seeds in the syrup. Supposed to be really good in cookies & cakes. Shop for vanillas | King Arthur Flour