Homemade Artisan Bread

These turned out really good. We cut them up and used them as sandwhich bread :)

Homemade Artisan Bread
Makes 3-4 loaves ( depending on the size you want)

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast
• 1 1/2 tbsp kosher or other course salt (I used regular table salt and the bread was really really salty. I recommend if using table salt that you lower the amount.)
• 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• cornmeal    for pizza peel (opt.)

1. In a very large bowl, add the flour, yeast and salt.

2. Pour in your water an stir until combined, just a few minutes.

3. Cover the bowl with foil or greased plastic wrap for 2 to 5 hours. 

4. Then, divide the dough into 3-4 loaves with a knife. cover each loaf with flour and form it into a ball.

5. Lay onto a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or onto a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. let this dough rest for about 30 or so minutes.

6. With a sharp knife, slash the top of each loaf into 3 lines or a criss cross pattern. this helps let out some steam in the dough. If you don't slash your bread, the bread will most likely make its own tear somewhere during cooking.

7. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and add a small pan filled with 1 cup of water on a lower rack for a water bath. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

8. Place your baked bread on a baking rack to cool.

Enjoy!