My Refrigerator Artisan Bread

My Refrigerator Artisan Bread

this is adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,
by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François

6 1/2 cups flour
3 cups water
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T kosher salt
Cornmeal

In a large bowl or bucket w/ lid, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups luke-
warm water. Stir in flour, mixing until its all mixed in. Dough will be quite
loose.Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap. Letdough rise at room temperature for
at least 2 hours. Now you can bake it all or refrigerate it, covered, for as long as two weeks. During this time it will take on sour dough qualities. yumm

When ready to bake, Cut off a piece about the size of a grapefruit with a knife and roll it
into a bit of flour.
Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch the dough, working in the flour and making the dough rounded. Put dough on a stone or a upside down cookie sheet sprinkled with
cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes.

Place a oven proof container on the bottom of oven and pour a cup of water in it.
Set baking stone or cookie sheet on middle rack and turn oven to 450ºF; heat
stone or cookie sheet at this temperature for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle
dough with flour and slash top with knife
three times if wanted. Slide dough onto the stone or cookie sheet.
Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. The water on the bottom will create
steam and give the
bread a nice crust!
Cool Completely.
Yields: 4 loaves if you bake the whole amount. If you are going to bake
the whole amount let it rise for about 5 hours after you mix it. The longer
you let it raise the better taste!