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1
Measure the dry ingredients into a 5-quart bucket or bowl, and whisk them together (you can also use a fork, or if its lidded, just shake them well).
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2
Add the water to form a very wet dough.
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3
Cover loosely (leave lid open a crack) and allow to rise for two hours at room temperature (if you decreased the yeast, youll need more time).
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4
NEVER PUNCH DOWN or intentionally deflate.
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5
The dough will rise and then begin to collapse.
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6
Refrigerate and use over the next 14 days, tearing off one-pound loaves as you need them.
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7
On baking day, cut off a grapefruit-sized piece of dough (about a pound), using a serrated knife or a kitchen shears.
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8
Quickly shape the loaf by pulling the top around to the bottom and rotating, but don't knead.
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9
Cover the loaf loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest on a pizza peel covered with cornmeal or parchment for 90 minutes (or 40 if your dough is fresh and not refrigerate).
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10
Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), with a baking stone placed on a middle rack.
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11
Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other rack that wont interfere with rising bread.
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12
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top with water and sprinkle with a seed mixture if desired.
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13
Slash the loaf with 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts across the top (or a singe lengthwise cut as in the first picture).
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14
Use a serrated bread knife held perpendicularly to the loaf.
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15
Slide the dough onto the pizza stone.
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16
Pour 1 cup hot tap water into the broiler tray.
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17
Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.
