Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. chopped lemon zest
Cornmeal as needed
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, rosemary, and zest. Add 1 5/8 cups water and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and very sticky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at warm room temperature (about 70°F) until the surface is dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface.
- Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and fold the dough over onto itself once or twice.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball.
- Generously coat a cotton towel, preferably a flour sack towel (not terry cloth), with cornmeal.
- Put the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal.
- Cover with another cotton towel and let rise until the dough is more than double in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
- At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, put a 2 3/4-quart cast-iron pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over, seam side up, into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that is OK.
- Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.
- Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and continue baking until the loaf is browned, 15 to 30 minutes more.
- Transfer the pot to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Using oven mitts, turn the pot on its side and gently turn the bread; it will release easily.
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