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BTW, there are lots of derivatives of that "No knead" approach in the NYT article you posted. One of my faves is the...

Beginner’s Sourdough Bread
A simple, approachable, and delicious loaf of sourdough bread
By Maurizio Leo

You just have to be around the house to do make the levain from sourdough starter, autolyse, mix, do the stretching and folding, do the proofing on the counter, dividing, preshaping, shaping, and popping in the fridge. All the work is in one day, then you bake the next day. But you need to be around for a good chunk of Day 1.

Quite a few people have tried to simplify the process so you aren't captive to the bread dough. Here's a good approach I have not tried yet.

Don't be a bread hostage
Finally, sourdough bread that fits your schedule
By Martin Philip
April 6, 2020

Maura Brickman holding a loaf of her bread
Bakers are friendly people. So friendly, in fact, that they ping my phone at all hours. Sometimes it’s a question (Hey! Where can I get those proofing baskets!?) or a picture of a great bake (Check this out!!! Jealous?) or a request for a recipe (Send me that Rye Pretzel pls). The conversation is open — you don’t need an intro — just let the random texts fly!
Recently, one of these exchanges changed the way that I make bread at home.
Maura: I’m not using preferments. I just use starter from the fridge ...
Me: No preferment??!
Maura: Nope
Me: How much bulk fermentation?
Maura: 12 hours ... it works ...
Me: ???? Send me a picture
Maura Brickman, a serious home baker in Connecticut, followed up her text with a picture of a large crusty loaf with gorgeous color. It was bakery quality by anyone’s standard — and she made it with "unrefreshed starter," straight from the refrigerator.
As a baker, convention has been my path to reliable results. I trust what I have done before — I know how to produce reliable results.
Maura doesn't care about convention. Free of “should” and “ought to,” she bends her breadmaking process to fit her busy schedule. She doesn’t take any guff from her starter or loaves — she's the boss of her bread.

I'm going to try this approach next. Being retired and kids grown, I have more time, but still I feel like a "bread hostage" at times.

Ahh, quite a loaf! Quite a Lady! :)

Now...from bread to beer! (Ale wives, but not the fish!)

"Humans have been drinking beer for almost 7,000 years, and the original brewers were women. From the Vikings to the Egyptians, women brewed beer both for religious ceremonies and to make a practical, calorie-rich beverage for the home.

In fact, the nun Hildegard von Bingen, who lived in modern-day Germany, famously wrote about hops in the 12th century and added the ingredient to her beer recipe.

From the Stone Age to the 1700s, ale – and, later, beer – was a household staple for most families in England and other parts of Europe. The drink was an inexpensive way to consume and preserve grains. For the working class, beer provided an important source of nutrients, full of carbohydrates and proteins. Because the beverage was such a common part of the average person’s diet, fermenting was, for many women, one of their normal household tasks."