Oh my goodness, do I have some yumminess in store for you!

I made an interesting apple bacon chili last night and artisan bread today. I plan to have them together from now on. The chili is my own concoction and therefore the seasonings are "about" or to taste. But you are all good enough cooks ( better than I am!) to handle that. If you do something to improve the recipe though, please share! But my family licked it up. It was really yummy stuff!
The bread is off my new app "how to cook everything". Jaelyn you should get it or at least call me for some good ideas from it! It has a lot of cool stuff in it-great app-cost ten bucks but it's well worth it. The bread tasted like it was fresh from an artisan bakery with a crackling outer texture and soft open holed crumb inside and it tastes fantastic slathered with butter. All this and yet it is sooo easy to do! The key to it is wet dough, slow fermentation and an oven within an oven (a.k.a. a preheated lidded 4 qt Dutch oven).

So because man can almost live on it alone I really must share :)

Jim lahey's no work bread (owner of Sullivan street bakery in NYC)

4 cups bread flour plus flour for dusting
Scant half teaspoon instant yeast
2 tsp sugar (my addition)
2 cups of water at about 70 degrees
2 tsp salt
Cornmeal/ wheat germ/semolina (I used corn meal)

Add ingredients minus the cornmeal to the mixer and mix until blended. Dough should have a sticky feel to it. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 18 hours at about 70 degrees. Time will be shorter for warmer temps and longer for cooler temps in the kitchen. Dough is ready when the surface is dotted with bubbles.
Lightly flour work surface and fold bread two or three times. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 min ( I totally forgot this step and it was fine...don't know how resting it would have affected it better).
Then using just enough flour to keep from sticking to your hands quickly form the dough into a ball and place seam side down on a cotton towel (not terrycloth) generously dusted with corn meal. Sprinkle more on the top and cover with another cotton towel. Let rise for two hours. Dough should more than double in size and not spring back when poked with your finger.
At least a half an hour before dough is finished rising put your 4 qt covered Dutch oven in the oven at 450 degrees (make sure your pot can handle this temperature, many handles are not meant for more than 400 degrees!).
When dough is ready dump into the hot pot seem side up. It will even out in shape as it bakes so don't worry if it looks funky when you dump it. Bake at 450 for 30 min with lid on, then take lid off and bake 20 to 30 min more until loaf is beautifully browned. If at any time bread begins to smell scorched, lower the heat a bit. Let rest on wire rack for 30 min before slicing.

Apple bacon chili

One pound dried pink beans
2 cups apple cider
two onions, one whole, one minced
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp red pepper
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 red bell pepper-diced
1 green bell pepper-diced
1/2 orange or yellow bell pepper-diced
2 granny smith apples- chopped into one inch pieces
1/2 cup bacon crumbled
1 lb. cooked ground sirloin or turkey

Soak a pound of pink beans with your preferred soaking method. Drain liquid and return beans to pot with enough water to cover about an inch above beans. Cook at a gentle boil with one whole onion, including peel, and one minced onion for about thirty minutes or until softened, add salt and cook for thirty minutes again at a gentle boil. Lower heat and remove onion. Add apple cider cinnamon, peppers, apples, bacon, ground sirloin or turkey, garlic, red pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and simmer for 30 min or until flavors are blended and apples and peppers are softened.

Enjoy (hope you like it)!