Naturally Leavened Old World Loaf Bread

I have had so much fun learning about Natural Leavening and making my own bread. To learn more, see my Natural Leavening post. I learned this amazing recipe from "Dr. Dough" when I went to one of his classes on natural leavening. It is a simple recipe for bread, with only four ingredients. I have listed the grams measurement as well, because it is so much easier to make this with a kitchen scale. (Learned that from Dr. Dough as well...the bread comes out perfect!) Once you have made this "master recipe" for 2 lbs of dough, you can use it to make many other things as well.

Naturally Leavened Dr. Dough Master Recipe
1/3 cup (80 g) natural leaven
1 1/3 cups (313 g) water
1 1/2 t (8 g) salt
4 cups (475 g) whole grain flour

Instructions for Naturally Leavened Old World Loaf Bread
Step 1: Make your leavening the night before. In the morning, check to make sure your leaven is bubbly, light and at peak performance. This is crucial when you are making bread. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. You can mix it by hand or in a stand mixer. You can knead the dough for a bit if you like, but it is not necessary. Let the dough rest, covered with a wet towel and bowl, at room temperature, for 4-10 hours.

Step 2: Form the bread into a round loaf and place seam side up in a 6" bowl. Cover once more with warm, wet towel and a bowl as a lid and let rise until double in size.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place dough on preheated stone seam side down and gently slash the top of the bread with a sharp knife. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy warm bread! (You can store sliced bread in freezer. Simply remove from freezer and place in toaster.) Delicious dipped in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.)