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Note: this is written as requiring a stand mixer, but I don't have one and make it by hand instead. My hand mixing notes are in parentheses.
Rustic Italian Bread (from Cook's Illustrated, Jan. 2003)
Biga
2 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon rapid rise/instant yeast
1 cup water at room temp
Dough
3 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed
1 teaspoon rapid rise/instant yeast
1 1/3 cups water at room temp
2 teaspoons salt (a bit more if you use kosher)
1. For the biga: Combine flour, yeast, and water in bowl of standing mixer (or medium bowl). Knead on lowest speed until it forms shaggy dough, 2-3 mins (or stir with wooden spoon for 2 mins). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp until it begins to bubble and rise, about 3 hours. Refrigerate biga at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. For the dough: Remove biga from refrigerator and let stand while making dough. Combine flour, yeast, and water in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook; knead on lowest speed until rough dough is formed, about 3 mins. (Or stir with wooden spoon for same amount of time.) Turn mixer off and cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let dough rest 20 minutes.
3. Remove plastic, add biga and salt to bowl, and continue to knead on lowest speed about 4 minutes. Increase mixer speed to low (2 on KitchenAid) and knead until dough forms cohesive ball, about 1 minute. (If mixing by hand, a spoon won't work here. Use your hands to squish the biga and dough together directly in the bowl. You'll be able to tell when they're incorporated when the texture is uniform. It takes about 4 minutes and is nice and messy.)
Transfer dough to large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until slightly risen and puffy, about 1 hour.
4. Turn dough by lifting each edge with a spatula and folding it into the middle. Replace plastic wrap, let rise another hour. Turn dough again, replace plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour longer. (Note: I've skipped the last rise without the bread seeming much different.)
5. To shape the dough, dust work surface with LOTS of flour. Scrape dough out of bowl, dust with more flour, and pat gently into an 8 to 10 inch square. Fold top corners diagonally and roll dough into a log from top to bottom. Tuck the edges under and slide onto a sheet of parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic, let rise until doubled, about 1hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 500 degrees.
6. To bake, cut slit 1/2 inch deep along top of loaf; spray lightly with water. Slide parchment sheet with loaf onto a hot baking stone (or if you don't have one, an inverted cookie sheet). Bake 10 minutes and reduce oven temp to 400. Bake about 35 more minutes until deep golden brown, rotating loaf as needed. Transfer to wire rack and cool 2 hours.
(courtesy Spinny and Cook's Illustrated)