Pane Integrale: Recipe by Jim Lahey

Yield: One 10-inch round loaf (1 1/4 pounds)
Equipment: A 41/2 to 5/1/2-quart heavy pot

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups bread flour (300 grams)

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (100 grams)

1 1/4 teaspoons table salt (8 grams)

1/2 teaspoon instant or active dry yeast (2 grams)

1 1/3 cups cool water (55 to 65 degrees F) 1 1/3 cups (300 grams)

Wheat bran, cornmeal or additional flour for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let sit a room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hrs.

2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using a lightly floured hand or a bowl scraper or spatula, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack positioned in the lower third, and place a covered 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.

5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution–the pot will be very hot; see photos, page 55.) Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.