Whole Grain No-Knead Bread for Sandwiches

Bill requested a bread more suited for a peanut butter sandwich to bring to work. No-knead bread with added grains and more yeast forced to cook in too small a pot resulted in a tall, dense, moist, whole-grain bread great for sandwiches or the toaster. The Queen of Hearts is there for scale.

Ingredients: 2 cups bread flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tbl. brown sugar 2-4 Tbl. roasted unsalted sunflower seeds, roughly chopped 1/4 cup rye flakes 2 1/4 cups water (the rye flakes will soak up the extra water) 1 envelope rapid-rise yeast oil for greasing the pot

Procedure (basic no-knead bread method) Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add water and stir to make a sticky dough. Cover and let sit 6-8 hours to rise. Stir down. Cover and let sit 2 hours for second rise. Thirty minutes before the second rise is finished, preheat a covered pot or casserole in a 450°F oven. When the second rise is finished, remove the hot pot and oil lightly to prevent the bread from sticking. Flop the bread into the hot pot, cover. Bake 30 minutes at 450°F. Uncover and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the interior of the bread reaches 210°F.

This recipe filled, some might say "overfilled" my 1970s Copco iron casserole. My intention was to force the no-knead bread into the shape I wanted for sandwiches. It worked fine. I did need to remember to grease the inside of the lid as well as the pot because the rising bread came right up to it but this forced the top of the loaf into a nice, flat shape, waiting for ham and cheese or PB&J.