Effortless Rustic Bread

This is the easiest recipe for rustic bread I've ever seen. Luckily it is also the yummiest rustic loaf recipe. Feel free to halve the recipe if you only want one loaf, but beware: it's so addictive you may wish you'd just baked both loaves.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 mins
• Calories: 162 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup cornmeal
• 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups warm water
• 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 ½ tablespoons coarse salt

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Step 2

Mix water, yeast, and salt together in a large bowl. Let stand until mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.

Step 3

Stir flour into yeast mixture until well incorporated; the dough will be loose and look wet. Cover bowl loosely with a damp towel and let sit for about 5 hours.

Step 4

Shape dough into 2 loaves using damp hands. Place loaves on a cornmeal-dusted work surface and score tops a few times with a sharp knife. Transfer to a baking sheet and allow loaves to double in size, 30 to 60 minutes.

Step 5

Bake loaves in the preheated oven, spraying surface of dough occasionally with water, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.