EASIEST HOME-BAKED BREAD

Makes one 9- or 10-inch round loaf

1 cups room-temperature tap water, about 75 degrees 2 teaspoon fine granulated active dry or instant yeast 3 cups bread flour (spoon into a dry-measure cup, level off) 1 teaspoon fine sea salt Olive or vegetable oil for the bowl

Directions: 1. Dust heavy cookie sheet or pizza pan with cornmeal or line with parchment paper and set aside. 2. Pour water into bowl of an electric mixer and whisk in yeast. Wait 30 seconds and whisk again. 3. Use large rubber spatula to stir flour into yeast and water mixture a little at a time. Make sure all flour is mixed into liquid and there isn't any clinging to side of bowl. 4. Place bowl on mixer and attach dough hook. 5. Mix on lowest speed until dough comes together around dough hook, 1 to 2 minutes. 6. Stop mixer and pull dough away from hook; let dough rest for 15 minutes. 7. Increase mixer speed to low/medium, sprinkle in salt, and mix until dough is smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes longer. 8. Scrape dough into oiled bowl; turn it over so top is oiled. 9. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough ferment until it starts to puff, about 30 minutes. 10. Scrape dough onto floured work surface, flour your hands, and gently flatten dough into a disk. Fold two sides in to overlap at middle, then roll top toward you all the way to end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten and repeat. 11. Place dough back in bowl seam side down and cover. 12. Let dough ferment until doubled, about 30 minutes. 13. To form dough into a boule-shaped loaf, use flexible plastic scraper to slide it from bowl to floured work surface; try not to deflate dough. 14. Fold edges of dough all around its perimeter into center. Round loaf by pushing against bottom of dough all around with sides of your hands held palms upward. Dough will quickly form an even sphere. 15. Place dough on prepared pan and cover it with a flat-weave towel or piece of sprayed or oiled plastic wrap and let dough rest until it starts to puff again, about 30 minutes. 16. Set rack in middle of oven and preheat to 450 degrees. 17. Once dough is proofed about 50 percent larger, flour palms of hands and gently press to flatten to about 1 inches thick. 18. Use an X-Acto knife or single-edge razor blade to cut 4 slashes in form of a square at edges of loaf and a -inch-deep slash across diameter of loaf 19. Then using spray bottle filled with warm water generously spray it with water. 20. Place pan in oven. Wait 5 minutes, then open oven and spray loaf again and reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees. 21. Bake loaf until it is well risen and deep golden and internal temperature reads 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool loaf on rack. Keep bread loosely covered at room temperature on day it's baked.