6.5cupswhite flourunbleached, all-purpose white flour
Cornmealfor pizza peel
Instructions
Add 1 Tbsp. yeast to bowl along with 1-2 Tbsps kosher salt.. Add 3 cups warm water. Stir.
Gradually add 6 1⁄2 cups flour.
Stir the mixture until it's thickened and well combined. I use this Danish Whisk which is GREAT. Cover bowl with tea towel. Allow to rise for 2 hours.
Once the dough has risen divide it into 3. Form each section into a ball and pull the 4 sides of the dough to the underneath. This is stretching out the gluten and aligning it. It gives you a nice tight top to the bread.
Preheat oven to 450 f. You want it to heat for an hour prior to baking your bread.
Leave the dough for its final proof on a very well floured proofing cloth (the floured, linen mat you see in my video) or tea towel for 45 minutes.
After it's proofed, gently transfer to your peel or baking tray/stone. Cut several slashes across the top. This allows the bread to move upwards as opposed to sideways when it bakes.
Bake until the interior temperature of the bread is 210 f. (around 25 minutes).
Notes
* if you want a crispier crust, when you're heating your oven add a deep pan. Right after you put your bread in the oven, throw a cup of water into the empty hot pan. This will create steam which is GREAT for baking bread.
*You can also just use ⅓rd of the dough, and put the remaining dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
*For an extra nice crust, bake the bread in a preheated dutch oven. Leave the lid on for the first 15 minutes of the bake and then remove it.
*Try removing 1 cup of the white flour and replacing it with Red Fife, Rye or another flour for a different flavour.