A simple loaf of bread

This is the bread I bake almost every week. It needs very little equipment: a bowl, a pot with a lid, and an oven. The rest is patience.

Mix five hundred grams of flour, three hundred and fifty grams of water, ten grams of salt and about a hundred grams of active starter. Stir until no dry flour is left, then cover the bowl and leave it alone for thirty minutes.

Over the next two hours, stretch and fold the dough every half hour. It will go from shaggy to smooth. After that, let it rise at room temperature until it has grown by about half, which takes three to five hours depending on the kitchen.

Shape the loaf, place it in a floured bowl and move it to the fridge overnight. In the morning, heat the pot in the oven at 240 degrees, drop the dough in, and bake covered for twenty minutes, then uncovered for another twenty.

Let it cool for at least an hour before slicing. That last step is the hardest, and the one that matters most for the crumb.