Poolish Bread

Ingredients

Poolish
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Final Dough
1 pound flour
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups water (10-12 ounces)
1 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons salt
all of the poolish

Day before: Mix ingredients for poolish in small bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave poolish out at room temperature overnight.

Day of: Combine flour with yeast and salt. Add water and mix until just incorporated. Cover with cloth and let sit for 20 minutes. Add all of the poolish from the night before and knead, adding as much flour as you need to create a soft elastic dough. Knead 8 to 10 minutes. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Shape dough into one big loaf. Let rise for another hour. Preheat oven to maximum temperature. Place a pan full of water on lowest shelf to create steam. Bake bread 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 450 degrees and bake for 20 more minutes.

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Adapted from a The Fresh Loaf recipe