Best Bread Recipe On Earth

This has been making the rounds on Facebook, it sounded so good and easy, I had to give it a try, and what do you know, it produces the most wonderful quality crusty wonderful bread and it's ridiculously simple! This version is slightly tweaked from the Facebook recipe, but you may do with it as you will.

CRUSTY DUTCH OVEN BREAD

• 3 cups flour (I use one cup whole wheat, two cups all-purpose unbleached)
• 1/2 tsp quick yeast
• 1-1/2 tsp sea salt (you can adjust up or down, as you like, but the salt does help the dough rise)
• 1-1/2 cups water

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add water and stir until blended.
2. Cover bowl with plastic and put in a warm spot to rise for 12-18 hours. This I do the night before I plan to bake it  and put it near the wood stove or on top of the hot water heater, depending on the season.
3. When dough has risen, punch it back down and form it into a ball and cover with plastic to let it rise for another 30 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put a COVERED cast-iron pot in the oven to heat up with the oven for 30 minutes (I've not tried an enameled cast iron pot, just a regular one)
5. After 30 minutes, carefully place the risen dough into the cast iron pot, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the pot lid and continue baking for another 15 minutes
6. Remove bread from pot, let cool for 10-15 seconds, if you can wait that long, then plunge your bread knife into that blissfully crunchy crust and slather generously with butter.

Being home-made, this bread doesn't stay fresh that long, maybe 3 days tops, but if it goes stale, imagine what wonderful bread pudding or croutons it would make. I can only imagine, because it doesn't hang around more than three days here!