The Food Pig

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Dissolve the molasses in the water or beer, then add both the beer and water to the dry ingredients. With a sturdy spoon, roughly mix the ingredients until the are no pockets of flour. This mix does not have to be perfect. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a room temperature oven or off in a corner. Here is where the magic occurs. Allow to sit undisturbed for 14 hours (anywhere between 12 to 16 hours should be fine) while the fermentation takes place. The dough should be 2 to 3 times the original volume and appear bubbly on the surface.

Scrape out the fermented dough onto a well-floured surface and generously coat the top with flour. Pull dough from right and fold over top about 2/3 across, then pull dough from left and fold over top about 2/3 across. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat for a total of four times sprinkling lightly with flour if dough becomes sticky. Finally, turn the dough over onto a floured sheet of parchment paper and shape into a ball. Lift the parchment paper and dough and return to the bowl. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for 3 hours.

After about two hours into the three hour rise, score the top of the loaf with a razor blade or scoring tool. About 30 minutes before the rise is complete, preheat the oven, Dutch oven and top to 450 degrees F. At the end of the three hour rise, carefully lift the dough with the parchment paper and place in the Dutch oven. Cover with the Dutch oven top and return to the oven. Bake covered for 35 minutes, remove the cover and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and move the baked loaf to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for about 60 minutes before slicing.