Courtesy iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Yield: 1 small loaf

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 T. for dusting dough
• 1 T. honey
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. dry yeast
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Preparation
In bowl, mix together flours, honey, salt and yeast. Add enough buttermilk to make dough soft. Cover with plastic wrap and towel. Let sit at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. Wet your hands to prevent sticking, and turn dough into itself to form ball, gently lifting edges and pushing into center until tight skin forms on surface of smooth ball.

Dust ball heavily with flour, and place back in bowl to rest for 1 to 2 hours. Place 1½- to 2-quart, heavy-lidded pot in oven and heat at 450 degrees F for at least 30 minutes. (Cast iron or soapstone work great.) Remove pot and lid from oven; place dough gently in bottom, cover with hot lid, and return to oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove lid and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until toasty brown. Remove bread from pot and cool completely on rack before cutting.