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3 ½ cups bread flour (in a pinch, I use all-purpose flour, but it is not our favorite)

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 ⅔ cups water (100 degrees F)

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1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon or Dutch dough whisk, blend warm water into the dry ingredients. This dough will be wet and shaggy, also very forgiving. Mix until no dry flour is seen. Cover with plastic wrap and put a towel on top to proof for 2 hours.

2. At the 2-hour mark, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with the covered Dutch oven inside.

3. Dust a large square of parchment paper with flour and turn out the dough carefully. (It will be sticky but try to preserve the proof.) Dust the top with flour and, using a dough scraper, gently fold the dough over and create a round boule. Use the sharp edge of the scraper to score lines in the dough. Cover with the plastic wrap and let rest until pot and oven are up to temperature.

4. Remove the pot from the oven. Place the parchment paper and dough into the Dutch oven and replace lid. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Then, anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes uncovered (this is a personal taste issue about the crispness of the crust). Let the bread rest 30 minutes. It will be hard to wait, but you will wreck the loaf by cutting into it immediately.

Notes - Overnight Version (Creates a Yeastier Loaf)

Use 1 teaspoon instant yeast instead of 2 teaspoons in quick-rise method.

Proof the bread on the counter for 8 to 10 hours or in the refrigerator for several days.

To bake, take the dough out and place on parchment before heating the oven so it gets to room temperature.