Fresh-baked bread

As one of my many efforts to reduce the grocery bill (now that Joe is in school and we are on a slightly stricter budget), I've been baking all of our bread at home.  I've tried several recipes, and I have found one that seems to be easy and quite successful.

The recipe is credited to Mark Bittman (my favorite), from his How To Cook Everything.

4 c. all purpose flour (can do up to 2 c. whole wheat flour, or 1 c. of another grain flour)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
2 to 2 1/2 c. warmish water
2 tbsp olive oil (optional)

Combine flour, salt, yeast, and water in a large bowl (or, in my case, a large plastic tub with lid). Stir, or use your hands to combine.  You should have a sticky, shaggy dough - it shouldn't be dry.  If it is, add a little extra water (this is where the variance in the amount of water comes in.  I usually find that I need about 2 1/2 c water). Cover loosely with plastic wrap, or if you are using a lidded container, put the lid on without sealing it.  Place on a high shelf overnight.

After 12-18 hours, flour a dry work surface.  Remove the dough from the bowl or tub and place it on the work surface.  Fold over a couple of times to form a ball, but don't work it too much.  You can also coat it in olive oil here (this is where the oil comes in). I haven't skipped this step yet, but I believe the function here is to get that nice, golden crust. Cover again with plastic wrap and let sit for at least a half hour (up to 2 hours).

Meanwhile, place a covered pot in the oven and preheat to 425 F.  I usually use my Le Creuset Dutch (French?) oven here, but you can use anything here that is oven-proof and has a lid.  If you don't have anything like this, I think you can simply use a baking sheet, but put an oven safe container with a bunch of ice cubes in the oven when you put the bread in.  The preheated pot acts like an "oven within an oven" and serves to trap the moisture released by the dough as it bakes.  This is how you get your pretty crust. The pot should preheat for at least half an hour.

Carefully remove the pot from the oven and dump your dough into the pot. Replace the lid and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid (it will look really pretty at this point!) and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  I sometimes find that the bread starts to smell scorched, and Mark Bittman says to turn the oven temperature down a bit (I've been successful with 400 F).  

Remove the bread and place it on a cooling rack for a bit before you try to cut it.  Admire your handiwork, and marvel at the fact that the bakery at the supermarket would have charged you $4 for this work of art!

The photo shows our favorite variation: replacing 1 c. of the flour with 1 c. flaxseed meal. Nummmm....