Mill the flour
Warm your water, and pour it in your mixer
Add the yeast to bloom (only necessary if using active dry yeast)
Next, add your flour to yeast water. Mix to incorporate until it forms a shaggy ball.
Let it sit for 10-15 minutes (autolysing: to allow the flour to absorb the water)
After autolysing, start kneading on lowest setting
Knead for about 10 minutes, then check the windowpane test. If the windowpane test fails, keep kneading until it passes the test. (This can take 25-30 minutes!)
When the dough finally passes the windowpane test, remove from mixer and shape into a ball with a tight skin. Place in an oiled bowl.
Cover with a lid or damp tea towel and let rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
After first rise, remove dough from bowl and flatten with rolling pin.
Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Then roll up flattened dough and shape so it will fit in your desired loaf pan.
Cover dough in loaf pan with damp tea towel. Allow to rise for 30-45 minutes, or until it passes the “poke” test.
While waiting during this second rise, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place an oven-safe dish of water on the bottom rack to add humidity.
Cover each loaf with a foil tent and place in oven above water dish. Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Then remove foil tent and continue to bake at 400 degrees F for about 30 more minutes or until your loaf reaches 190 degrees F internal temp.
Remove from oven, remove loaf from pan, allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
