Basic Bread

From OSR

You don't need ten thousand bread recipes.. just adapt this one. The proportions are easy to remember. The technique is from Cooks Illustrated and the proportions are from Mark Bitman's How to Cook Everthing.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 cup water

2 tsp yeast (or your own starter)

1 tsp salt

Directions

Set aside a little of the flour.

Mix the dry ingredients together then add the water. If you do this in a big bowl you can knead in the bowl. Add more flour as needed.

Turn the dough into a clean bowl. You can oil the bowl first if you choose, then let it rise in a warm location for several hours.

If you have a dutch oven, bake it in that. Put the dutch oven in the regular oven and turn the heat up to 500 to preheat while you shape and proof the dough.

Shape the dough into a boule (sphere) and proof it on parchment. When the oven is hot enough and the dough has proofed for at least 20 minutes, place the dough in the dutch oven, parchment and all, using the parchment as sling.

Bake covered for 30 minutes, and then uncover and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.