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Note: this recipe makes enough dough to make fresh bread all week long. You just take a handful at a time and bake as needed. The dough itself will keep for at least two weeks. You can use less yeast if you want to, but just make sure you give it enough time to rise. The prep time does not include the initial 3 hours of rest.
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To make the dough, put the water in a large container (large enough to hold all of the risen dough-a 3 to 4-qt container should be good). Sprinkle the yeast and salt in it. Then put in all of the flour, and mix using a wooden spoon. Just mix until everything combines and there are no streaks of flour left.
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Cover the container (not airtight) and let the dough rise and then deflate a bit, about 3 hours. You can now bake immediately, or store in the refrigerator.
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To bake, dust your hands and the surface of the dough with some flour and grab a handful of the dough (about the size of a grapefruit). Gently pull the sides of the dough toward the bottom, rotating the dough, until you get a roundish boule shape with a smooth surface. Be gentle and try not to deflate any gas bubbles. Don't worry about the bottom being smooth, it'll be fine.
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Dust a pizza peel with some cornmeal to prevent sticking, and lay the formed dough on it. Let it rest (no need to cover it) for at least 40 minutes, or longer if the dough was chilled. It's best to bake it when it's no longer chilled.
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Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake, put a pizza stone in the middle rack of your oven, and put a broiler pan in the bottom rack. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Dust some flour on the top of your loaf, and make 1/4-inch deep slashes on the surface of the dough.
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After twenty minutes of preheating, slide the loaf onto the pizza stone. Pour a cup of warm tap water into the bottom broiler pan and shut the oven door to keep the steam inside.
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Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until you get a nice brown crust. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
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You can also bake this in a Dutch oven, which will eliminate the need for the broiler pan with the steam. But I prefer the pizza stone method.
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(Recipe is adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. I think they are geniuses wrapped in a blanket of smart and smothered in awesomeness.)
