the best bread

This bread is magic.  I swear.  If you have a stand mixer it is the easiest thing to make, and so worth it.  This bread looks like bread you would buy in a bakery and tastes even better.  It doesn't tend to last long at our house (though what does?) and lends itself well to dipping in soup, making sandwiches, or just eating with oil and vinegar.  Don't get discouraged because there are several steps to this bread.  It really is easy to make.  Although make sure you have the time.  Between starting this and pulling it out of the oven you'll need 4 hours.

Once your bread is mixed and has

Although I generally use cups to measure ingredients, this recipe turns out better I think when measured by weight instead.  Don't get me wrong, it turns out great using cups too, this is just a personal preference.  I know many people don't have scales in their kitchens though, so I'll give measurements both ways.  Oh, and the pictures show the bread with 2/3 AP flour, 1/3 whole wheat flour.  Any more whole wheat flour and the texture and consistency loses its soft smooth wonderfulness (yes, that's totally a word...).  But I'm giving the recipe out with just AP flour.  Also feel free to add in any desired bits.  Cheese, herbs, etc. work really well added into this bread.

ingredients:
20 oz. AP flour (4 C)
12 oz. warm water (1.4 C)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast

directions:
1. Combine water and yeast in the bowl and let them sit 10 minutes to bloom.
2.  Add the flour and salt and mix well.
3.  If using a stand mixture change paddle to dough hook and knead the dough for 10 minutes.  If you don't have a stand mixture then, sorry, you have to do this by hand.
4.  Cover the dough in the bowl loosely with a towel and let it sit out for 2-4 hours depending on the temperature of the kitchen.
5. Knead the dough for a minute to evenly distribute everything.  Then roll the dough into a tight ball with your hands.
6. Spritz the bottom of a cast iron le creuset style pot lightly with oil and set the dough in it.  Put the lid on and let the dough rise for 45 minutes.
7. About 20 minutes into the rising set your oven for 450 degrees F.
8. Take the lid off, brush some olive oil onto the top of the bread, score it with a #, sprinkle it liberally with salt, put the lid back on, and slide the bread into the oven.
9. Set the timer for 30 minutes.  When the timer goes off, take the lid, and change the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.  Bake for another 15 minutes.
10. Take the bread out and let cool for a few minutes.  Eat this warm or cold.