Ingredients
3 C lukewarm (105 degrees) water
32 oz unbleached all purpose flour
1 T salt
1.5 T instant yeast
Preparation
Combine everything in mixer. Mix with metal blade for 30-60 seconds on medium speed. It will be a sticky, rough dough.
Transfer dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover and let rise at room temp for 2 hours.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 7 days.
When ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; grease hands and grab a hunk of about 1/4-1/3 of the dough. About 14-19 ounce piece.
Plop sticky dough onto floured work surface and roll into a ball or into a longer log. Doesn’t have to be perfect.
Place dough on parchment (if using a baking stone) or onto a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top.
Let the dough rise for about 45-60 minutes. Won’t appear to rise that much - mostly it’ll settle and expand.
Preheat oven (and baking stone) to 450 degrees while the dough rests. Place a metal (not ceramic, glass or pyrex) shallow pan on the lowest oven rack and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.
When ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2-3 times 1/2" deep. Bread may deflate a bit; that’s ok.
Place bread in oven and carefully pour the 1 cup of hot water in shallow pan.
Bake bread for 25-35 minutes, until its a deep, golden brown. (about 200 degrees with instant read thermometer.)
Remove bread from oven and cool on rack. Store leftover bread in plastic bag at room temp.
