Artisan Bread

Make the dough:

1. In a large bowl*, mix together the water, yeast and salt.
2. Add the flour all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until there are no dry patches and everything is uniform. There is no need to knead the dough.
3. Cover the bowl with a non-airtight lid or with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise until it flattens on top, about 2 hours. The time will be determined by the temperature of the water that you used and the temperature of the room.
4. If making the bread right away, continue on to baking the bread. If not using right away, refrigerate, covered in the non-airtight container for up to 14 days.

Shaping the bread:

1. If baking all of the bread, sprinkle the surface of a counter with flour. Dump the dough onto the counter. Cut the dough into portions. (I will do 2 loaves if I’m using a Dutch oven, but 4 smaller loaves if I am baking them freeform.)
2. If you are only baking part of the bread and refrigerating the rest of the dough for later, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Using your hands, pull up the dough and cut a portion of the dough with a serrated knife.
3. Working with one portion of dough at a time, fold the bread over on itself a few times, rotating after every one or two folds. 
4. Stretch the dough around to the bottom of the ball, rotating so that the bottom looks like a bunch of ends and the top is smooth. Place the ball on the counter, with the smooth side up. Place both hands on the sides of the bread, and using light tension, drag the dough down, then rotate the loaf. Continue to do this until you have an even, round loaf.
5. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper or a cornmeal dusted pizza peel. (If you are baking in a Dutch oven, you will want to put the dough on parchment paper.) You can also just use a baking sheet. Cover the dough and let it rest for 40 minutes. (If the refrigerated dough is being used, let it rise for 60-90 minutes.)

Baking the bread:

1. If baking freeform:
2. While the dough is resting, preheat a pizza stone in the oven at 450ºF for 30 minutes. (If you are not using a pizza stone, you won’t need the oven to be preheated for as long, but you will want it up to temperature before the rising time is up.)
3. After the dough has risen, lightly dust the top with flour. Use a sharp knife or a lame to score the top of the bread. You can do 2 or 3 parallel slashes, or an x, or get creative with your slashes. 
4. Place an empty broiling pan in the oven under the pizza stone.
5. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Quickly pour about 1 cup of water into the broiling pan, and quickly shut the oven door to trap the steam.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crust is browned.
7. If using a Dutch oven:
8. While the dough is resting, place a Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 450ºF for 30 minutes. (You will want to make sure your dutch oven is oven proof up to this temperature. My Le Creuset has a lid that is only oven safe to 390ºF, so I use my oval dutch oven instead.)
9. Dust the top of the loaf with flour, then use a sharp knife or lame to score the top of the bread.
10. Remove the dutch oven from the oven, remove the lid, and lifting the bread by the parchment paper, transfer it to the dutch oven. Replace the lid, then transfer back to the oven.
11. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake an additional 10-12 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.
12. Allow the bread to cool completely before cutting for the best flavor and texture.