The basic European bread, which requires more patience than work. It’s eminently flexible, because at any time you can refrigerate the dough and retard the process for hours, even overnight. Many people, in fact, believe that the slower you go with bread, the better. So it’s not only acceptable but preferable to make the dough at night, leave it in a cool place to rise for 8 or 10 hours, then proceed with the recipe, taking all day—if you like—to finish it. So, this recipe is written as if you will proceed from start to finish, but you don’t have to do so.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 small baguettes, 3 larger baguettes, 2 round loaves, 1 huge round loaf

　　3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed

　　2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast, such as SAF

　　2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt

　　

Step 1

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water through the feed tube.

　　

Step 2

Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. (In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.)

　　

Step 3

You can simply cover the food processor bowl with plastic wrap (remove the blade first) or turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. (You can cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6 or 8 hours.) Proceed to step 4 or wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month. (Defrost in a covered bowl in the refrigerator or at room temperature.)

　　

Step 4

When the dough is ready, form it into a ball and divide it into 2 or more pieces if you like; roll each piece into a round ball. Place each ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rest until the balls puff slightly, about 20 minutes.

　　

Step 5

To make baguettes, pat each piece into a rectangle, then fold it over onto itself, the long way, twice; seal the resulting seam and, using your hands, roll the dough into a long snake; use only as much flour as you need to keep the dough from sticking. Spread a large, heavy piece of canvas or cotton (you can use a large tablecloth, folded into quarters to give it extra stiffness) on a table or countertop and sprinkle it very lightly with flour. Or use baguette pans, sifting a little bit of flour into them. Place the loaf, seam side up, in a fold of the cloth (this is called a couche, or bed), or seam side down in the baguette pan. When all the loaves are formed, cover with a cloth and let rise for about 1 hour at room temperature. To make boules, shape the loaf or loaves into a round ball, pinching the bottom to seal the seam as well as you can. Sprinkle all over with flour and let rise on a well-floured (or use cornmeal) board or baking sheet, covered, for at least an hour and preferably longer, up to 2 hours.

　　

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 450°F. For the baguettes, sprinkle each loaf very lightly with flour and slash the top several times with a razor blade. If the dough has risen on a cloth, slide it onto floured baking sheets or gently move it onto a peel (or just a piece of wood), then slide the bread directly onto a baking stone set on a rack low in the oven. If the dough has risen in baguette pans, place them in the oven, with the rack set in the middle. For the boules, slash the top several times with a razor blade (you can make a pattern if you like). Put the baking sheet directly into the oven or slide the dough onto a pizza stone.

　　

Step 7

Bake until the loaves are beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 375°F. (If necessary, adjust the oven heat so the breads brown evenly.) Bake until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is at least 210°F, 30 to 40 minutes for baguettes, 40 to 60 for boules (or longer if the boule is very large). Remove and cool on a wire rack.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.