½cupFarina/cream of wheatfor sprinkling on pizza stone (can substitute cornmeal)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients except for the salt in a large bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix and slightly knead.
Allow to rest for 45 minutes before mixing in salt. Knead for 1 minute.
Place dough in a bowl and allow to rest for 6-12 hours, depending on your kitchen temperature. You will be ready to move to the next step when the dough has doubled in size.
Once dough has doubled, place on a clean surface (silicone or slightly floured, to avoid sticking). Slice dough in half. Form each half into a ball, either by lifting and folding or by using a bench scraper to tuck the edges to the center.
Once your dough is a satisfactory shape, place it in a floured banneton or in a bowl lined with a thoroughly-floured tea towel. Allow it to rest at room temperature or warmer for 30 minutes.
Place your dutch oven and/or a pizza stone in oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
Once the oven is preheated and at least 30 minutes have passed, turn your bread dough out onto parchment paper (if placing in dutch oven) or a pizza peel/parchment covered with farina (if moving to a pizza stone).
Score the bread using a bread knife, and place the bread on the hot pizza stone or into the Dutch oven. Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees F.
For Dutch oven bread: bake, covered for 20 minutes. Then, carefully remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 40 minutes.
For pizza stone bread: bake for 60 minutes.
Once bread has baked, remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Notes
If you don't have a Dutch oven or a pizza stone, you can substitute a baking sheet. The bread may not end up looking exactly like mine, but it will still result in a tasty loaf of sourdough.