This flour/water/yeast mixture goes by many names, but we will call it a pre-ferment. The point is to use a little bit of yeast and let it really work for you. By letting the yeast sit in the flour and water for 8 to 12 hours, you’re letting the magical process of fermentation run its course.

WHAT TYPE OF LOAF PAN SHOULD I USE? This recipe makes about 2 pounds/900 grams of dough, which will fill out a pan that is 81/2 by 41/2 by 2 in/21.5 by 11 by 5 cm. If you have strong feelings about the final shape of your loaf, you’ll need to get a pan that matches your vision, but all of the bread recipes in this book assume a loaf pan of

THE HECK? Indeed, this is a little different from what most people think of as kneading—it’s more like stretching and folding. Instead of putting the dough on your countertop and using your strong muscles to rub the dough over and over for many minutes, all the while adding flour to keep it from sticking, and just getting all worked up and sweaty,

6. Shape your loaf. Sprinkle a handful of bread flour on your counter, and pour the dough out. If you’re making more than one loaf, cut your dough into equal-size pieces. Be nice and gentle with the dough—it has gas in it, and you want to keep most of it there. Gently grab a corner of the dough and fold it up and over into the middle. Do the same

It traps all the steam from the baking bread and also blasts the bread with heat, which contributes to “oven spring”—the rapid increase in volume of the loaf upon entering the oven.

The starter is usually ready to be made into a pre-ferment 12 to 24 hours after its last feeding, depending mostly on temperature and how sour you want your bread to be.

6. Shape your loaf. Sprinkle a handful of bread flour on your counter, and pour the dough out. If you’re making more than one loaf, cut your dough into equal-size pieces. Be nice and gentle with the dough—it has gas in it, and you want to keep most of it there. Gently grab a corner of the dough and fold it up and over into the middle. Do the same

8. Let your loaf rise. Use your spatula or bench knife to scoop up the shaped loaf, and plop it into the basket, smooth-side down. If you want to bake the bread in 4 to 6 hours, let the loaf sit out somewhere in your kitchen. If you want to bake it anywhere from 6 to 24 hours later, stick the loaf in the fridge (or just outside if it’s cool out—about

it’s the only grain that, when mixed with water, will form a stretchy dough that can rise tall and proud, if it’s treated right.