For baking this bread, use the oven's top-bottom heat setting (static heat) at a very high temperature. Place an iron pot (with a lid!) in the oven, and once it's heated and scorching hot, add the dough. This method will yield a bread with a very crispy, dark crust.
Baking the bread in the hot pot traps the moisture that evaporates from the dough, preventing the formation of an outer crust that restricts rising. This method results in a more airy bread.
To achieve a dark crust, it's crucial to remove the lid at the end of baking and allow the bread to brown. You can use a cast iron pot or any deep pot or sauté pan suitable for high-temperature oven use.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
500 grams bread flour (3 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
15 grams white sugar (1 1/2 tablespoons)
10 grams salt (2 teaspoons)
350 grams room temperature water (1 1/2 cups minus 1 tablespoon)
For the rosemary mixture:
Leaves from two fresh rosemary sprigs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Atlantic sea salt or coarse salt
Instructions:
Prepare the dough: In a bowl, mix the flour and yeast. Add the sugar, salt, and water, and stir with a spatula or spoon until a relatively uniform dough forms, without lumps of flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
Prepare the rosemary mixture: Finely chop the rosemary leaves and place them in a bowl. Add the olive oil and salt, and mix.
Shape and bake the bread: Flour a work surface well and transfer the dough onto it. The dough will appear bubbly and very sticky. Stretch the dough into a large rectangle and spread the rosemary mixture on top. Fold the dough in half, then fold in half again. From the resulting rectangle, fold in half once more, then fold the other half over to form a relatively square shape. Shape the dough into a ball by stretching it.
Place a cloth or a reusable paper towel in a bowl and flour it with a sieve. Place the dough ball in the bowl with the open side facing down. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the dough doubles in size.
About half an hour before baking, preheat the oven to 230°C (top-bottom heat). Place an iron pot with a lid, 28-30 cm in diameter, inside the oven.
When the dough has risen sufficiently, carefully transfer it to the hot pot, cover immediately with the lid, and bake for about half an hour, until the bread is puffed and slightly golden. Remove the lid and bake for an additional twenty minutes, until the bread is very dark brown.
Remove the bread from the pot, let it cool, and slice.
Naama Gaon, in collaboration with Sugat