All Rights Reserved: Recipe adapted from Dan Lepard
Ingredients
175mls warm water
0.625mls yeast
288g00 flourplus extra for shaping
5mls fine salt
Method
Pour the water into a large bowl and stir in the yeast
Add the flour and salt
Mix to a firm dough, then knead lightly for 10 seconds, until evenly mixed
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave at room temperature for 12 hours, until it has doubled in volume; if not, leave until it does
Shape the dough into a stick about 15cm long with tapered ends
Lay diagonally on a tray lined with a silpat or baking paper
Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove for 30 minutes
Uncover and dust liberally with flour
Press a rolling pin firmly down the centre, so that you almost split the loaf in two, leaving it joined only by a membrane of dough right down the middle
Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove for 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to 240° Celsius
Bake for 20 minutes, along with a small tray of boiling water on the lowest shelf to make the oven slightly steamy Reduce the heat to 200° Celsius and bake for 20 minutes, until crisp