Sullivan St Bakery Bread

My dad actually introduced me to this recipe.  My dad has always been fantastic at baking bread, and growing up, we always had his homemade bread in the house (I still haven't been able to perfectly recreate his sandwich bread recipe).

A few months ago, when we went to my parents' place (it still feels a little weird not to call that "home"), my dad served this light, airy bread with a great crust.  And he called the "Sullivan St Bakery bread."  Well, clearly, he is more in the know about food trends than I am because I had no idea what he was talking about.  Apparently, the owner of Sullivan St Bakery made this bread that pretty much all you need is flour, water, a little salt and a dash of yeast.  It's a super simple no-knead bread although it does require a little planning ahead -- the first rise is 12 hours and the second is 2.  So when I finally got around to making it, I couldn't believe how easy it was.  I prepped the dough overnight and the next morning before church, shaped the dough and left it for the second rise.  My second rise accidentally turned out to be 5 hours but regardless, we still ended up with a crispy on the outside and chewy and airy on the inside.  I'll be making this again sometime soon!

Sullivan St Bread
Taken from: Leah Naomi, originally from Sullivan Street Bakery
Makes 1 loaf

• 3 cups (430g) flour
• 1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water
• ¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons table salt (I used 1 1/2 tsp)
• olive oil (for coating)
• extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)
•  Special equipment: 6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, dutch oven, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic), both pot and lid must be ovensafe for up to 500 degrees (I used a dutch oven)

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).
2. Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.
3. Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.