This bread recipe was originally written with no amounts, oven temperature or bake times. I journeyed to decipher the code and this bread was the result. It yields a soft yet sturdy crumb, the perfect vehicle for mounts of Bruschetta, or any anti pasta you can throw at it.
Ingredients
3 cups - warm water 110°-115° F
1 tbsp - active dry yeast
1 tbsp - sea salt
1 tsp - raw sugar
7 cups - all purpose flour + more for dusting
1/3 cup - cornmeal
Directions
Add the 1 tsp raw sugar and 1 tbsp yeast to the warm water, mix to combine set aside for 5 minutes to proof.
To the flour mixture add the sea salt and stir to incorporate. Add the proofed yeast to the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing until a stiff dough forms.
Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Gently form into a ball. When poked gently with the pad of your finger the dough should spring back.
In a well oiled bowl place your dough ball "puckered" side down and coat in oil, flip upright. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about one and a half hours or until double in bulk.
Punch down dough in bowl, and dump onto counter. Cut dough in half and form into two footballs, no need to be precise. Place both "footballs" back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and rise for a second time until double in size, about 40 minutes.
Punch dough down and cut into two equal sized portions, form each portion into two "footballs" again elongating the dough and tucking under the bottom any creases for best presentation.
Dust a large rimmed baking sheet with the cornmeal, keeping it into the center portion of the pan. Place formed loafs onto the cornmeal side by side leaving about 3 inches between the loafs (the dough will touch during baking this is ok) cover with a clean tea towel and let rise a final time for about 30 minutes
Pre heat oven to 450°F.
Place the risen loaf in the pre-heated oven and mist with water, then bake for 10 minutes. Mist with water and again bake for 10-15 minutes more or until golden brown and hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Let loafs cool before slicing.
Recipe by Resolute Ridge©
DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE VERSION BELOW