0. Preheat oven to 120C/250F.
1. Put flour and salt in mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Put sugar in measuring cup and add hot water. Stir. (the hottest
thing that comes out of your tap is probably acceptable. DO NOT BOIL,
you're looking for 120-130F.)
3. Stir yeast into water, set on top of preheating oven for 10 minutes.
If it fluffs, you're good. If not, your yeast's shot, and this isn't
going to work.
4. Dump yeast water into bowl of flour. Scrape sides of cup if necessary
to get all the yeast into the bowl. Mix the crap out of it until all
the flour is incorporated into a single sticky gob of dough.
5. Toss a dishtowel over it and leave it on top of the preheating oven for an hour.
6. Grease a pan -- bread pans work, but I prefer a 1qt pyrex bowl. (You
want to get really fancy, smoosh it onto a pizza pan and cut the bake
time in half.)
7. Let the air out of the dough by stabbing it with a fork a couple
times. Scrape all of it out of the bowl into the greased pan.
8. Turn up the oven to 425F/220C. Leave the dough on top for another 30m.
9. Once your dough has risen for the second time, bake for 15m, then turn down the oven to 375F/190C and give it another 15m.
10. You should be able to flip it out of the pan straight out of the oven.
Consider adding:
- 2T minced garlic, 1T rosemary
- a diced chile pepper, 1/4c shredded cheddar
- sun dried tomatoes and basil