I ran into a friend who is a culinary guru at a holiday party last weekend. I asked if she was still cooking a lot, and during the course of the conversation, she told me that she makes her own bread. I know a number of people, including my mother-in-law, who make their own bread, but I have always shied away from any recipe that requires the use of yeast. When my friend mentioned that the recipe she uses makes a lot of dough that can be kept in the refrigerator and baked a loaf at a time over the course of a week, I knew I had to try it. Sally rattled off the recipe by heart and I typed it into my phone, but she did suggest that I google "5-Minute Artisan Bread" if I wanted more detailed instructions. I did so, and ended up following this recipe from the Splendid Table.

Ingredients

1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (about 1-1/2 packets)
1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6-1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting dough
Cornmeal

Instructions

1. In a large plastic resealable container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm (about 100 degrees) water. Using a large spoon, stir in flour, mixing until mixture is uniformly moist with no dry patches. Do not knead. Dough will be wet and loose enough to conform to shape of plastic container. Cover, but not with an airtight lid.

2. Let dough rise at room temperature, until dough begins to flatten on top or collapse, at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours. (At this point, dough can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks; refrigerated dough is easier to work with than room-temperature dough, so the authors recommend that first-time bakers refrigerate dough overnight or at least 3 hours.)

3. When ready to bake, sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel. Place a broiler pan on bottom rack of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees, preheating baking stone for at least 20 minutes.

4. Sprinkle a little flour on dough and on your hands. Pull dough up and, using a serrated knife, cut off a grapefruit-size piece (about 1 pound). Working for 30 to 60 seconds (and adding flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to hands; most dusting flour will fall off, it's not intended to be incorporated into dough), turn dough in hands, gently stretching surface of dough, rotating ball a quarter-turn as you go, creating a rounded top and a bunched bottom.

5. Place shaped dough on prepared pizza peel and let rest, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it in lidded container. (Even one day's storage improves flavor and texture of bread. Dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in airtight containers and defrosted overnight in refrigerator prior to baking day.) Dust dough with flour.

6. Using a serrated knife, slash top of dough in three parallel, 1/4-inch deep cuts (or in a tic-tac-toe pattern). Slide dough onto preheated baking stone. Pour 1 cup hot tap water into broiler pan and quickly close oven door to trap steam. Bake until crust is well-browned and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely.

The first loaf was delicious and this recipe is very easy to follow. That said, I will do the following when I bake my next loaf (tomorrow):

1. Shape the dough better. I know that practice makes perfect and I don't mind if this looks a little bit rustic, but I think that I can achieve a more uniform shape.

2. Score the top of the loaf more deeply. I was too timid when I did this, I so I did not get the criss-cross effect that I was looking for on the top of the loaf.

3. Wait just a little longer before slicing. It was still just a little too warm and if I had been more patient, I could probably have sliced it more uniformly and a bit thinner.

I do not have a pizza peel or a baking stone, so I rested the formed loaf on a wooden cutting board and then baked it in a cast-iron skillet, which worked perfectly fine. I'm looking forward to cutting off the next grapefruit size ball of dough and baking a new loaf, as well as making a pizza at some point with the dough. I encourage anyone who has ever wanted to make homemade bread to give this a try!