Does resting the dough for a long time reduce the need to knead the bread?
Allowing the bread dough to rest for the 18 hours will allow the bread to develop the gluten which gives the bread the chewy texture. 
This will reduce the need for kneading. 

Personally I have experimented with this method but with a shorter resting time (8 hours) and have achieved crusty, chewy-textured bread. 

Note though that the crustiness of the bread is due to the use of an oven-proof pot and not the resting period.