In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt.

Pour in the warm water and stir with a wooden spoon (or handle) until all flour is hydrated — the dough will be sticky and loose. That’s normal and desired.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a cloth. Let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles or more in volume, about 2–3 hours — or longer if needed.

For deeper flavor: after the initial rise you can refrigerate the dough for 8 up to 72 hours, then bring it back to room temperature before baking.

Thirty minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 230 °C (450 °F). If using a Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid, place it in the oven to preheat.

Lightly dust your work surface with a little flour. Scrape the dough from the bowl onto the surface, dust the top with a little flour.

Using a dough scraper or spatula, fold the edges toward the centre a few times to roughly shape it into a round. Don’t overwork — rough shape is fine.

Transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper (seam side down).

Carefully remove the hot preheated pot from oven, place the dough (with parchment) inside, cover with lid, and bake 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake another 10–15 minutes until the crust is deeply golden-brown and crisp.

Remove loaf from pot, cool on a wire rack at least 10 minutes before slicing (this allows crumb to set).