Pane Casereccio

Method

The night before, stir together the biga's flour, water, and yeast until just combined -- it will look more like a thick batter than a dough, and that's correct. Cover loosely, and leave it on the counter overnight, eight to twelve hours. It will bubble, rise, and smell faintly sour by morning, which is exactly what you're waiting for.

The next day, combine the biga with the remaining flour, water, salt, and yeast, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead for about ten minutes, until smooth and elastic -- this dough is wetter than most, and will feel like it's fighting you at first. Keep going. It comes together.

Cover, and let it rise at room temperature for two to three hours, until roughly doubled. Turn it out gently, shape it into a round or oval loaf without deflating it more than you have to, and set it into a floured proofing basket, or a bowl lined with a well-floured cloth, seam side up.

Let it proof for forty-five minutes to an hour, until it's noticeably puffier but not yet fragile. Meanwhile, heat your oven as hot as it will go, with a baking stone or a heavy sheet pan inside, and a second empty pan on the bottom rack for steam.

Turn the loaf out onto the hot stone, score the top firmly with a blade -- one confident line, not a timid scratch -- and pour a cup of hot water into the empty pan below before you shut the oven door. The steam is what gives this bread its crackling crust; without it, you get bread that's merely good instead of bread that's right.

Bake for about fifteen minutes with the steam, then remove the water pan and continue baking for another twenty to twenty-five minutes, until the crust is deeply browned and the loaf sounds hollow when you knock on its base. Let it cool completely before cutting -- this is not a suggestion. Bread cut too early loses half its texture to the steam still trying to escape.