bread.md

Ingredients

• 6.5 cups - Flour
• 1 Tbsp - Active Dry Yeast
• 1.5 Tbsp - Salt
• 3 cups - Luke-warm water (should feel neutral/very slightly warm to your hand)

Phase 1 - Mix

• Put water in bowl
• Add salt and yeast
• Add flour
• Stir the mofo until you don't really see any loose flour (dough will be super sticky)

Phase 2 - Cover and leave out

• Throw a kitchen towel over the bowl
• Leave on counter for a couple of hours

Phase 3 - Refrigerate

• Leave towel over and stick in fridge for 24 to 48 hours (I'll usually make one loaf each of the next two nights after making the dough)

Phase 4 - Shape

• Split dough in half
• Shape dough-half into a rough ball shape without beating the hell out of it (don't want to lose the bubbles)
• Pro-tip: I do this by "turning" the dough so I'm tucking the drier layer that was on top into the middle of the ball

Phase 5 - Bake

• Preheat to 450°
• Place parchment paper on baking surface (I use my pizza stone, though I'd imagine a cookie sheet would work fine)
• Place dough on parchment paper
• Let dough rest for ~30 min while the oven pre-heats
• Slice an "X" in the top of the loaf, about 1/2in deep
• Place a small, oven-safe container with about a cup of water on the oven rack the dough won't be on (I usually use a glass pie dish)
• Place dough in oven
• Bake for 35 min for single loaf, 45-50 if doing both loaves
• DO NOT OPEN THE DAMNED OVEN UNTIL IT'S DONE (you'll let the steam out that the water is there for)