Things You'll Need:
- Shallow baking pan
- Flat baking sheet
- Large bowl
- 3 cups warm water
- 1 ½ tbsp granulated yeast
- 1 ½ tbsp salt
- 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Cornmeal
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Step 1
Measure out the all-purpose flour into a bowl. Next, pour the warm water into a large bowl or bucket and add the yeast and salt to the water. Stir with a spoon once or twice just to barely moisten the yeast.
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Step 2
Dump all of the flour into the bowl or bucket all at once. Stir the dough mixture until completely moistened and there are no dry patches of flour left. Next, cover a flat baking pan with a light layer of cornmeal. The cornmeal will help to keep the dough from sticking to the pan.
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Step 3
Cut off a lump of dough approximately the size of a grapefruit from the dough in the bucket. Sprinkle with flour so the dough doesn't stick to your hands. Shape the lump into a ball by pulling the sides down under the dough.
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Step 4
Sit the shaped dough on the cornmeal sprinkled baking sheet. Leave it there for two hours to rise on its own. Loosely put a lid on the bowl with the remaining dough and store in the fridge. The dough inside will store for about 2 weeks.
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Step 5
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and sit the empty shallow baking pan on the lowest rack in the oven. Dust the top of the risen dough with flour. Then, take a knife and make shallow cuts across the top of the loaf. The cuts will help the top of the bread to expand without cracking open.
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Step 6
Place the pan of risen dough in the oven. Next, take a cup of hot water and pour it in the heated shallow pan on the lower rack. The steam from the water will help the bread to have a crusty top when finished baking. Bake for about 30 minutes. Take out and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into your artisan bread.
