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1
Spoon the flour into a measuring cup, level with a knife then dump into a large bowl. Repeat until you've added all of the flour into the bowl.
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2
Add the yeast and salt into the flour and mix well.
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3
Pour in the water and stir together until just moistened. Beat the mixture for 40 stokes with a wooden spoon. (I have to admit I got my hands in there...it is quite messy). Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go and continue until dough forms a lumpy, sticky mess. NO KNEADING!!!
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4
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm draft free area. Let the dough rise until it's doubled and has a sponge like appearance.
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5
Now you can use it right away or use only portions or put the whole thing in the fridge for use later. If you refrigerate it, it keeps up to 9 days.
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6
I used 1/4 of the dough and made a baguette. It was delicious. The rest is in the fridge.
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7
For the baguette:
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8
Place 1/4 of the dough on a floured surface and dust hands with flour. This is important-the dough is quite sticky.
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9
Working the dough as little as possible form it into a 14 inch long cylinder. Pinch each end to a point. Lightly flour any sticky spots on the dough. It should feel smooth and soft all over like a baby's skin and not at all sticky.
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10
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cornmeal on an un-rimmed cookie sheet and place the dough on top of the cornmeal. Cover dough with a light tea towel and let it rise for 40 minutes.
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11
Meanwhile preheat oven to 450 F. Put your baking stone into the preheating oven (if you have one). Place the stone on the top rack and put your broiler pan on the bottom rack.
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12
When dough has risen, slide the cylinder off of the pan onto the hot stone. Fill your bottom pan with 2 cups of hot water. Close the oven quickly so that the steam stays in the oven. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until medium golden brown. Mine was done in 20 minutes. When done, the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
