Really, I'm convinced there is something magical about this bread. It was just too darn easy. . . . or maybe it was just the magic of having the smell of fresh baked bread filling the house or enjoying it for snack time smeared with raspberry jam and washed down with espresso on a foggy winter afternoon.
oh and can you believe I took this picture with my iphone!
3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (2 packages)
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons kosher salt, depending on your saltiness preference (or half as much table salt)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
6 1/2 cups flour (In the bread pictured, I used 3 cups white, 3 cups whole wheat
Cornmeal
Pour the water into a large bowl or plastic container, then sprinkle in the yeast, salt, and vinegar. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flours, and mix until there are no dry patches. Cover it with plastic wrap or a shower cap and let it rest and rise at a warm room temperature for at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours.
At this point, bake it or refrigerate it for up to two weeks to bake later. To bake it: sprinkle some flour across the surface of the dough and use a knife to cut off a piece that's about a third of it; refrigerate the remaining dough. Turn the dough in your hands to stretch its surface, pulling it under to create a taut, rounded top and a gathered-up bottom.
Sprinkle a pizza peel or wooden cutting board heavily with flour then lightly with cornmeal, put the loaf on it, sprinkle the top with flour, cover it lightly with a dish towel, and let it rest for 40 minutes (if you're using refrigerated dough, increase this rest time to 1 1/2 hours).
Half an hour before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450, and put a heavy, covered pot inside to heat. I use a Corning ceramic baking dish with a glass lid, I know other recipes call for using a dutch oven, but this worked just fine for me.
When the dough has rested, use a serrated or very sharp knife to slash an X across its top. Then take the heated pot out of the oven and put the loaf in. Don't worry if it doesn't go in exactly right, it will come out okay. Be careful not to burn yourself!
Bake the dough for 25 minutes, covered, then remove the cover and bake another 15 minutes. At this point it will be wonderfully brown and crusty!
