Emily's Crusty Artisan Bread



Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon yeast
1 ½ cups cool tap water
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours.  Overnight works great.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid (or a normal oven safe pot with lid) in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Don't skip this step!
Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. It will be really sticky, don't knead it, just kind of make it round with floured hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. No need to oil pan. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 7-15 minutes. The longer you leave it, the crispier the crust will be. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Variations to add to basic mixture:
Citrus :  ¾ c. cranberries, orange zest from 1 orange, ½ c. sliced almonds or pecans
Cheddar & Jalapeno:  (adjust yeast to 1 ts?) ¼ cup diced jalapenos, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, (or cubed white cheddar) Sprinkle another ¼ cup  of cheese & a few thin sliced jalapenos on top after the 30 minute bake
White Chocolate/Pecan:  (adjust salt 1 ¼?)  ½ cup Baker’s white chocolate, coarsely chopped (two full squares), ½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped.
Experiment with...Cinnamon & raisin...steel oats & flax seeds...garlic & parmesan

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