Before you start…
This recipe makes 2 good sized loaves. I use a 6 quart plastic food-grade bucket to mix and store the dough which makes it very easy to use what you need and keep the rest in the refrigerator.
Ingredients:
3 cups/1lb + 8 oz/680 grams warm water (100 degrees or less)
1 tablespoon/.35 ounce/10 grams granulated yeast
1 to 1.5 tablespoons/.6 to .9 ounce/17 to 25 grams Kosher salt
6.5 cups/2 pounds/910 grams all purpose flour
Warm water to about 100 degrees
Add yeast, salt and warm water in a 6 quart bowl or container and give it a stir.
Mix in the flour all at once. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a Danish dough whisk, stir until the flour is incorporated. Do not over do it! Wet hands will help too! You want a dough that is uniformly moist.
If you are using a bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap. If you are using a plastic bucket, cover loosely with the lid. Let the dough rise at room temperature for about 2 hours (until it begins to collapse or flattens on top). I have often gotten busy and left my dough on the counter for longer than 2 hours, but that did not affect the results.
Store the dough in the refrigerator overnight and use over the next 14 days. At no point should you punch or re-knead the dough. You want to retain the gas so the loaves are not too dense.
When it is time to bake, prepare a pizza wheel with parchment paper or cornmeal, to prevent the loaf from sticking. Dust the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a piece weighing a little less than two pounds. Dust the loaf as needed to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Gently stretch the ball of dough so that the surface is smooth and the bottom appears to be a collection of the bunched ends. This will all be smooth after the baking period. This process should take about 30-40 seconds as you do not want to over work the dough.
Let the loaf rest on the pizza wheel for about 40 minutes (on warm days, I will cut that down to 20).
Preheat a baking stone on the middle rack in your oven to 450 degrees (I also use an oven thermometer). This can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on your oven. Place an empty metal broiler tray for holding water on the shelf below.
Once the dough has rested, dust with flour and, using a serrated knife, slash the top 1/2 inch in a tic-tac-toe, cross, scallop or any desired pattern.
Slide the bread onto the baking stone and pour about 1 cup of water into the broiler tray to create the steam.
If you are using parchment paper, pull out after 20 minutes for a crisper bottom crust. Bake for a total of 35-40 minutes until the crust is browned and firm to the touch. A perfectly baked loaf will make “cracking” noises when it first comes out of the oven. Let cool on a wire rack.
Modifications…
Add 1 cup asiago cheese and 3 cloves of crushed garlic to warm water/yeast/salt mixture. Stir and then add flour. Brush the top of the loaf with garlic olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt before baking. Brush again with the oil when you remove the finished bread from the oven.
Add 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes to the warm water/yeast/salt mixture. Stir and add the flour.
Add 2 tablespoons rosemary and 3 cloves of crushed garlic to the warm water/yeast/salt mixture. Stir and add the flour.
Basically, tailor it to suit your tastes. Experiment and try something new!