Chef J. – The Culinary Evangelist

To make the dough

1. Place the water into the bowl of a stand mixer, or large bowl. Add the yeast, mix briefly, and allow to stand for 10 minutes or until foamy.

2. Add the flour and the salt and mix with the dough hook (or by hand) until smooth and sticky.

3. Place into a large container that DOES NOT seal air tight, and allow to rest at room temp for 2 hours.

To bake bread

1. Place the baking stone into the oven and preheat to 400°

2. Using wet hands, tear off a ball of dough about the size of a softball or grapefruit. Turn the edges of the dough under, rotate 45 degrees and repeat until you have a smooth ball. Place the dough on a pizza peel or a small cutting board that has been dusted with cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking.

3. If the dough has been refrigerated, allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes to come up to room temp.

4. Score the top of the ball gently with a serrated knife. A steak knife works well for this step. Don't score too deeply, ⅛" deep is plenty.

5. Slide the dough off the peel onto the baking stone. Dump one cup of cold water into the bottom of the oven (or into a shallow baking dish that has preheated with the oven if you prefer), close the oven door, and bake for 40 minutes.

6. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before eating.