Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  3               cups  warm water
  1         tablespoon  yeast
     1/2      teaspoon  sugar
  1         tablespoon  salt
  6               cups  unbleached flour -- (up to 8-cups)

Preparation:

Dissolve the sugar in the water then sprinkle in the yeast to proof. Once proofed, add the salt and 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth - and beyond (I find that the more I beat the dough at this point, the lighter the bread is). Add in enough flour to make a good stiff dough, then knead until smooth and soft as a bambino's behind. Grease a good sized bowl and turn the bread over in it, lightly greasing all sides. I usually sprinkle the top with a bit of flour, then cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise until doubled in a warm place. When doubled, punch down and divide into three parts. Briefly knead each, return to bowl, cover again and let rise. When doubled, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. (I have a baking tile which I use for this bread, but good, heavy pans work well too). Knead gently and shape the dough into three "footballs". Place on a large, lightly greased baking sheet which has been sprinkled with corn meal (or two smaller ones). Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Just before popping in the oven, score the bread with a sharp knife very lightly down the middle and mist bread with water. Turn the bread and mist every 5 min. (approximately 3 times) until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the botto

Nutritional Information:

2443 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (0% calories from fat); 77g Protein; 534g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 6422mg Sodium