Readers say that this kind of loafing is a good thing

We have a lot of homemade-bread lovers in our area. Last Wednesday's story about Donna Upchurch and her no-knead bread prompted a lot of calls and e-mails from people interested in the bread or already making similar breads.

Here are a few of their comments:

Rebecca Fuller actually wrote while I was working on the story. She wanted to tell me about a recent book called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (Thomas Dunne Books, $27.95) by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. The authors use the same idea of a no-knead dough with a long rise. But instead of making a one-loaf batch each time, they call for making one big batch, storing it in the fridge for up to two weeks and cutting off pieces to bake as needed.

"It makes fabulous bread," Fuller said. She added that her son liked it better than the fresh bread from a local bakery.

Anne-Marie Miller wrote to say that she made no-knead bread the day the story appeared. She decided to use more whole-wheat flour. She also omitted the semolina because she didn't have any, and she substituted a bit more bread flour. She also added some more yeast and water, thinking that the larger amount of whole-wheat flour might make the dough heavier and drier.

"As you can see from the attached pictures, it turned out pretty well," she wrote in an e-mail. "I just had some this evening with French aged goat cheese (Bûcherondin) and a glass of wine ... very good, and crusty."

Great kitchen aroma

Barb Ford wrote to me as soon as she saw a teaser for the bread story, four days before the story came out. Like Upchurch, Ford became a devotee of no-knead after seeing an article in The New York Times.

She had even written about it in the Food for Thought column she writes for the Triad Mensa newsletter.

But unlike Upchurch, Ford had stuck with the original version that takes 12 to 18 hours, instead of the shorter, six-hour version.

Ford sent a second e-mail after she read my story. "I loved it when you quoted Donna, saying it is a miracle every time she makes it," she said. "I feel the same way."

Then, when I called her, the first thing she said was, "I've got Donna Upchurch's recipe in the oven right now. This bread smells so good, I'm about to flip."

Like Upchurch, Ford has been experimenting with different ingredients in her bread. But instead of mixing different kinds of flour, she mostly has been adding grains, nuts and seeds to the flour. She loves the bread with flax seeds and sunflower seeds. She added sage and garlic powder in a loaf she made for Christmas.

She has used rolled barley, rolled rye, wheat bran, amaranth, millet and pumpkin seeds.

"I tried walnuts (mixed in the dough) once, and it turned the bread purple. So I decided it's better to fold them in at the end."

"We have a pecan tree in the back, so I'm going to try pecans. The possibilities are endless," she said. "Every time I taste the bread, it's yummy. Even my mistakes have been really good."

If you missed Upchurch's recipe, you can read it online at www.journalnow.com. Ford's and Miller's recipes are posted online in the Dishing It Out blog, www.journalnow/dishingitout.

□ Chili is on a lot of people's stoves this time of year, what with the cold weather and the Super Bowl this weekend. For me, any time is chili time. So I couldn't resist stopping by Whole Foods Market on Saturday for its second-annual chili cook-off. The store challenged each department to come up with a stellar chili. Then it gave away samples and asked customers to vote on their favorite.

The store had six chilis, down from nine last year. And though the chilis weren't as many or as varied as last year, they were just as good.

Two in particular caught my taste buds' attention. The Florida girl's chili, representing the store's front end (cashiers, etc.), was perhaps the most unusual of the bunch. It was the tiniest bit sweet, as well as decently spicy, and featured prominent cinnamon flavor. In the background was a little chocolate that blended well with the cubes of beef chuck, cumin, coriander and other ingredients.

I also liked the beef, bean and beer chili from the prepared-foods department. It's a very solid, deeply flavored traditional chili with just the right beer accent and a smoky hint of chipotle peppers. And the chunks of bell pepper add nice color.

Later, I got the vote tallies from Whole Foods. Out of 157 votes, the clear winner was the Florida girl's chili made by Sheila Fisher, with 57 votes.

Whole Foods is selling the winning chili this week on its hot bar. I have the recipe on our Dishing It Out blog at www.journalnow.com/dishingitout.

□ By the way, chili fans may want to head over to the YWCA, 1201 Glade St., on Thursday. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the YWCA will have its 13th annual Project New Start Chili Luncheon and Silent Auction.

The luncheon will feature about 10 different chilis. Participating restaurants include Bib's Downtown, Fourth Street Filling Station, Firebirds, Big Shotz Tavern, and Foothills Brewery.

The luncheon also will have chilis from reporter Nicole Ducouer of WXII-TV and DJs Bob Campbell and Wendy Gatlin of radio station Majic 94.1-FM.

The silent auction will include such items as Wake Forest basketball tickets, spa and massage gift certificates, and memberships to the Glade Street or Gateway YWCA.

Money from the luncheon and auction will support Project New Start, a counseling program for female parolees, and Hawley House, a residential center for women recovering from addiction.

Tickets are $15 and can be bought at the door or in advance. Tables of eight can be reserved for $130.

For more information, call Kristin O'Leary at 721-0733 or Gerry Duke at 722-5138, ext. 234.

■ Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. His most recent columns can be read on our Web site at www.journalnow.com.