INGREDIENTS
3 cups bread flour, or plain/all-purpose
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of dried, instant, or rapid-rise yeast
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 and 1/2 cups of warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS-
- Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add water and oil, mixing to incorporate all of the ingredients together. The dough will be wet, sticky, and shaggy.
- Lightly spray the top with cooking oil spray. Cover with plastic wrap and place a dry tea towel over the top.
- Leave in a warm, draft-free place for 2-3 hours, until doubled in size. The dough will have a lot of little holes or bubbles and be wobbly like jelly.
- Place a large (10-inch) Dutch oven or heavy-based pot in the oven with a lid. Preheat oven to 450°F for 30 minutes before baking.
- Lightly flour the work surface and plastic spatula with up to 1 tablespoon of flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the work surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a large pinch of flour and fold it over on itself with the spatula (about 5-6 folds). Roughly form a round shape.
- Measure out a large piece of parchment paper, large enough to transfer the dough into the pot. Place paper next to the dough and roll dough onto the paper, smooth side up. Carefully move it to the center of the paper and reshape it if needed, or shake the pan a couple of times to evenly distribute the dough. (It will even out while baking.)
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest while the oven is preheating.
- Use oven mitts to carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Grab the parchment paper from each end to pick up the dough and transfer it into the pot.
- Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully golden browned.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before slicing
