How to avoid elephant skin on no-knead bread?
I have been baking no-knead bread in a heavy porcelain 2-qt.soufflé dish with a glass lid with great success and consistent crust on all sides. My recipe is based on Jim Lahey's magical recipe  at http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread but I use only 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cup white whole wheat flour, 2 cups of bread flour,1 1/4 tsp. non-iodized table salt, and 1/4 tsp. instant yeast.  SAF red label yeast provides consistent results.  Once, I forgot to turn and shape it before baking so now I usually fold the dough a few turns in the bowl once earlier in the day and allow it to continue fermenting until baking time. (If I do turn it out to shape it as described by Lahey, I prefer rice flour to wheat bran to prevent sticking.)

I preheat the oven, pot, and lid at 550°F for half an hour and then pour the bubbly, risen dough into the pot. The nearly-liquid dough has visible gluten 'legs' as it is poured and sizzles as it hits the pot.  

I reduce the oven temperature to 475°F and bake the dough for 30-35 minutes covered and another 15 or so minutes uncovered or until the internal temperature is 210°F. It can be baked directly on the rack for the last 5-10 minutes for a drier crust. I allow it to cool to 80-85 degrees before slicing to be certain that the final phase of bread baking, gelatinization, is completed and this very hydrated bread's interior isn't gummy when cut.

Heavy porcelain, ironstone, glass, cast iron all work well - slow cooker inserts or all manner of heavy vessels as described on baking blogs can be used. This dough is so wet that the bread takes the shape of the vessel in which it is baked. 

The thermal mass of the vessel is important for storing and radiating heat energy to the bread dough. A vessel that is thick and dense such as cast iron, dense ceramic, or glass will more closely replicate the heated mass of the brick ovens traditionally used for artisan breads than will a thin vessel with less mass.