- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for the work surface
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1-1/2 cups water
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1-1/4 cup of the water and mix with your hand until you have a shaggy, sticky dough. Add the additional 1/4 cup water slowly if the dough is too dry. This should take roughly 30 to 60 seconds. You want it to be a little sticky but not too wet.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside to rest at room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours. You’ll know the dough is properly fermented and ready because its surface will be dotted with bubbles. This long, slow fermentation is what yields the bread’s rich flavor.
Generously flour your work surface. Separately, generously coat a small cutting board with flour. Turn the dough onto the work surface in one blob. The dough will cling to the bowl in long, thread-like strands and it will be quite loose and sticky. This is exactly what you want. Use lightly floured hands to gently and quickly lift the edges of the dough in toward the center, effectively folding the dough over onto itself. Flatten the dough to a rectangle about 6 x 12 inches. Fold it up in thirds on to itself, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. After the rest nudge and tuck in the edges under the dough to make it round. That’s it. Don’t knead the dough.
Place the dough on the floured small cutting board. Generously cover the round with flour and then cover the dough with plastic wrap let it rise for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will be double in size and will hold the impression of your fingertip when you poke it lightly, making an indentation.
About an hour into the second rise adjust the oven rack to the middle position and place the covered ceramic pot with a 1/4 cup of water in the oven. Heat the oven and pot to 490°F.
When the dough is done with its second rise, carefully remove the pot from the oven and uncover it. The water should be all evaporated, if not pour it off. Flip the dough into the pot. Cover the pot with its lid and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 420°F and remove the lid and bake until the loaf is beautifully browned to a deep chestnut color, about 15 minutes more.
