Homemade Bread

Using your fingers, shell, pour the yeast over the water and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place the flour in a bowl and spread the salt over it.

Open a hole in the center of the flour and little by little spill on it the preparation of water and yeast. Mix everything in a circular direction with the help of your hands, until the ingredients are unified and the mixture comes off the walls of the bowl. Graduate the consistency that the dough acquires, adding only a little flour if it is very wet or just a little water if it is very dry. The ideal point will be the one you get when the dough has a soft texture that does not stick to your hands.

Prepare a flat, smooth surface with powdered flour. Extend your dough here using one hand to hold it firmly, while the other widens it to one side. Stretch it out that way and then fold it over itself, so that it looks like a lump on which you can repeat the same operation. Stretch, fold, stretch, fold... liven up the task by humming your favorite song because this you will have to do systematically for about 15 minutes. The result should be a smooth, homogeneous mass.

Take your dough and make of it a uniform ball that you will introduce again on the bowl, this time washed, very dry, and smeared with olive oil. Cover with transparent and oiled film, tempering it over the mouth of the bowl. Let it rest in a warm place for an hour and wait for the magic of the yeast to work during this time, making the dough grow twice its size. Check that the process is sufficient, squeezing the surface of the ball with your index finger. The mass will sink and must slowly return to its original state.

Once this is done, a second round of kneading and fermenting begins. At this time, knead by subtly pressing the ball with the palm of your hand in a circular direction and folding the edges toward the center. Turn and repeat. Now turn your dough into a ball and ferment for another 50 minutes, this time on the baking tray in a warm place. Cover with a clean cloth.

Place a new tray with the contents of a cup of water on the base of the oven and preheat the oven to 250°C. Before inserting the tray where the dough rests, trace one or more shallow incisions on its surface. Put it in the oven and immediately atomize its interior with a little water. After the first 20 minutes of cooking, remove the tray with water from the base of the oven, lower the temperature to 200°C and let it cook for another 15 minutes. After this time, hit the surface of the bread with your knuckles and make sure it sounds hollow. You're ready to come out of the oven!