Top left. Scaled the water, then add the yeast. Top center. Scaled the flour and measured salt into the same bowl. Top right. I’ve mixed it all up into a crude mess, and dump it onto my counter. I then clean the bowl with warm water, dry it, and oil it. I hate cleaning crusty bowls. Cleaning it now means you have no crusty bowl, and that it’s ready to go when your hands are mucked up with dough. It’s one of those small steps that makes life easier later.

Below left. Kneaded the dough 30-50 times or so, made a ball, and put it in the bowl upside down. Gave it a spin to oil the top, then flipped it right side up. Keeps the dough from drying out, crusting, and stopping the rise. Below center. Let it rise for a couple hours, punched it down, and made a ball again, on parchment, on my peel. Let it rise for another hour, and get oven preheated to 400 or so. I have thick slate tile on my bottom rack at all times. Bake, spritzing a couple times with water heavily early on to get some steam action going on. Let bake for about a half hour. I don’t probe my loaves for temp. I have, but don’t.

Now the loaf on bottom right is hilariously a ‘boule’. A ball it is. But loaf shape aside, it’s a yeasty, dense, silky bread that we’re really into. The loaves never seem the same despite the consistency of ingredients. But that’s okay with me. And baking your own bread just feels so damn good.

ps. If you’re into baking, check this shit out.