Ingredients for approx. 1 kg bread

• 600 g organic white flour

• 1 tsp dry yeast or 30 g fresh yeast

• 3 tsp fine sea salt

• 550 ml cold water

Preparation

Mix the flour, dry yeast and salt, preferably in a large bowl. If using fresh yeast, first mix it in 100 ml lukewarm water and leave to stand for 5 minutes, then add to the flour. Add only 450 ml of cold water and mix all the ingredients very briefly with a spoon, for no more than 20 seconds. The dough should just absorb the flour. Do not knead. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave the dough to rest at room temperature for 20 hours. Preheat the oven to 240 degrees. Place a tight-fitting,, cast iron pot (e.g. from 'Le Creuset')) with a diameter of 26 cm including lid for one hour. After the 20 hours, generously sprinkle baking paper with flour. Using floured hands and a scraper, slide the soft dough onto the baking paper and briefly fold it over once from the right, then once from the left towards the centre. Use your hands to gently shape it into a ball from the sides. Still do not knead!

After the pan has been heated for an hour, slide the baking paper and the ball of dough (or rather the misshapen dough blob) into it. Cover tightly with the lid and bake for 40 minutes at 240 degrees. Then remove the lid, reduce the temperature to 220 degrees and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and risen.

After baking, immediately remove the bread from the pan with the baking paper and leave to cool on a rack. Leave to cool for at least an hour before slicing.

For a smaller loaf, halve the ingredients and use a smaller pan (20 cm diameter).