3 cups flour unsifted.
1 + 1/2 cup water
1/4 t commercial yeast
1 t salt
Slightly less than 100% hydration.
A cup of sifted flour is usually 4oz. A scooped cup of compacted flour is aprox 5oz. So 15 oz. flour
A cup of water is 8 liquid oz. So 12 oz. water.
Mixed to shaggy dough. Not kneaded. Covered and left alone for 12 hours. Dumped onto lightly floured work surface. Hands floured, bench scrapper floured. Edges pulled and stacked. Shaped into a reasonable blob. Rested for 20 minutes. Baked at high temperature for 25 minutes inside a preheated clay cloche, an upside down chicken roaster. Uncovered and baked an additional 10 minutes to darken and partially dehydrate.
This bread is outstanding. It is what professional bakers aim for. The yeast partially digests the flour over that extended length of time as it grows. The dough is partially fermented. That makes the baked bread more readily digestible with less simple sugars, as partially fermented foods are, miso and the like. It is better health-wise than commercial bread that breaks down to sugar, as well as more substantial, more flavorful, and more satisfying.
The large bubbles, the nice open crumb is a thing of beauty. So unlike commercial mass produced bread that is whipped up quickly within a few hours, punched down to reduce bubbles to uniformly small size to resemble synthetic sponge.
Relish on one side, my own mustard on the other
I cannot stop eating these sandwiches. Sometimes with tomato, sometimes with cheese. Occasionally with avocado. I eat two or three at a time. I already went through one prepackaged 1/2 pound of smallish mortadella, and one full pound of large deli mortadella and now I am starting my second. I've had Boar's head and Imported from Italy, I suppose, eh, Boar's head is imported too, from Canada, this being the U.S.
