Bread recipe

Here is the recipe for the bread I have been making. There are many more recipes in the book or on their website at www.artisanbreadinfive.com but this is the main one. I may take some pictures of the next loaf I make if I remember.

The master recipe is adapted from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes a Day

3 cups of lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. You can mix this with a wooden spoon or in a large mixer, like a Kitchen Aid, with a dough hook. You do not need to knead this just mix well. Dough will be quite wet. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours.

Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks.

When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. (I find for my family I need a larger portion than this)Turn dough in hands while coating lightly with flour to lightly stretch surface, creating a round loaf. You do not kneed the dough at this point. Just form it into a loaf. Place the dough on pizza peel or a greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone ( I don’t have one and it still turns out fine)on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees (I do 475 ); heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stoneor put cookie sheet in oven.Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

EDIT. I forgot to include this dough makes a large batch that you store in the refridgerator until needed. It can keep i nthe fridge up to 2 weeks and the longer it rests in the fridge the more sourdough-y it tastes.