Literallly, you do not knead this bread. Asked to describe it, I would say it's similar to a sour dough with a rustic Italian flavor. A dear friend gave me this recipe years ago and, because it's so easy to make and always turns out beautifully, I thought I would share it....I know she will not mind. The recipe follows:
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed
Method:
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours (I leave mine overnight) at room temperature, about 70 degrees. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with tiny bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Cover with a cloth and let it rise for about 2 hours in a warm place. I put mine in a sunny window, but nowadays some ovens have a "proofing" button. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked.
When dough has doubled in size, heat the oven to 450 degrees and put your container into the oven to get warm. You can use Pyrex, pottery, cast iron, etc. but it must have a lid. When dough has doubled in size, transfer to the warm container. You can sprinkle with flour or cornmeal. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack and enjoy.
