THE bread

I've teased you long enough. Now it is time to share the recipe for the worlds best, easiest, most addictive bread.
That's an olive and garlic loaf, but with the basic recipe, you can make any number of variations.

I must mention here that this recipe is not my invention. Nor is it the invention, I'm sure, of the people who wrote this book:
The loaves really do look like that. It's just stupid how pretty they are.

Now for the shock and amaze part: no kneading. no rising. no punching, no fussing. You mix up 4 ingredients - water, yeast, salt and flour - set it aside for 2 hours, refrigerate and use the dough for up to 2 weeks.

That is it - promise. But I'll take you through the steps just to prove it.

Gather your materials:You'll need:

3 cups warm water
6 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

You will need a large bowl with a non-airtight lid. Keep in mind that it will live in your fridge, so if you use it every day, reconsider your choice and find a different one.

Also, I bake the loaves on a pizza stone and I think this works great. If you don't have one, improvise.

You'll also need a metal broiler pan or ovensafe skillet into which you'll pour 1 cup of water at baking time to steam the loaf as it cooks. DO NOT USE GLASS. I learned the hard way and shattered the pyrex baking dish all over my first beautiful loaf.

1. Get water. (90-105 degrees, but no hotter or you'll kill the yeast. Better to be too cool than too hot.)
As for the flour, I recommend starting out with basic white flour before trying out heavier and whole grain flours. I use organic unbleached. It's cheap and yummy, and makes for delicious and light loaves.

For the salt, I use a coarse Kosher salt, but I think most will do.

2. Dissolve the yeast, then the salt in the warm water.
3. Add 6 cups flour. I know this sounds silly, but measure very carefully. The exact ratio of water to flour makes a big difference, I'm finding. So don't pack the flour down and level it off with the back of a knife. If you already know this and I'm insulting your intelligence, forgive me.
4. Mix it up until there are no more dry spots. You will not get out all the lumps, so don't try.

5. Cover with the (non-airtight) lid, and set it aside for 2 hour (or more, but not less).The mess will triple in size over the next few hours, and the bowl will become warm to the touch. Fermentation at work. Right up there with purple beans turning green. 6. After 2 hours (or so), put in refrigerator. At this point, you can use it right away or wait up to 2 weeks, though it's much easier to handle when it's cold.

7. When you're ready to bake it, dust the surface of the dough with a little flour and cut off a hunk about the size of a grapefruit/softball. Be sure to dust your hands with some flour, or you're in for a very sticky mess.

Don't knead it.

In fact, you want to handle it very little if you can help it. Just form it into a ball by stretching it over itself from the inside out and turn in 1/4 turns until you've achieved a relatively symmetrical ball. Once you have that shape, you can elongate it into more of a loaf shape, or even roll it into a baguette shape. What you're creating is a "gluten cloak" around the outside of the loaf. It will appear rather taut and shiny if you do it right. And it will be sticky, but resist the urge to over-flour the surface.

8. Set aside to "rest" for 40 minutes.(Here you can see I sprinkled the surface with coarse corn meal. I don't usually do this, but it can be nice.)

9. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Have the pizza stone on the middle rack, and on the rack below, the broiler pan (empty and NOT GLASS). You can switch these around (pan on top, stone on bottom) but I've had better luck with this arrangement.

10. Right before you pop that baby in the oven, put some slices in the surface with a sharp serrated knife. It cuts best if you dip it in flour first.
11. Slide the loaf on the hot stone (you may need an assist from a spatula)12. CAREFULLY pour 1 cup of hot water in the (NOT GLASS) broiler pan

13. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top is nice and golden brown. Don't worry - you won't dry it out because this dough is very wet to start with.
14. Once you remove it from the oven, you're "supposed" to let it cool completely. BS. I eat it as soon as possible, and I recommend you do, too, but keep in mind you may destroy the loaf because it's much more delicate when hot. Also, it's freaking hot, so don't burn yourself.And that's it! Enjoy. And please write to tell me what you think!