In a bowl or container, stir salt and yeast into water until dissolved.

Stir in flour until uniformly moist.

Let dough rise, loosely covered, until it collapses (about 2 hours). Refrigerate at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight (this allows the dough to develop flavour).

Remove from refrigerator. Sprinkle dough with flour. Cut off a grapefruit-size piece, about 1 lb (500 g). Gently stretch the sides of the dough around to the bottom to form a ball that’s smooth on top. Place a sheet of floured parchment paper onto a pizza peel or upside-down cookie sheet. Sprinkle dough with flour and rest on parchment until almost doubled in size (up to an hour.)

Prepare the oven: place a baking stone on middle rack, and an empty broiler pan on bottom rack. (If you don’t have a stone, double a cookie sheet and place it in the oven.) Turn oven on to 450°F (230°C).

When oven reaches temperature, dust the loaf and use a knife to score a cross or lines across the top, about ¼ inch (½ cm) deep. Slide the loaf (still on its parchment paper) directly onto the baking stone or cookie sheets. The parchment paper will slip right off after baking.

Pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiling pan beneath. Bake 30 minutes or until crust is deep brown. Cool completely on a rack before cutting.