Make a depression in the middle and add water. Mix with your hands. It will be sticky, which is ok. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 18 hours.

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball and put dough seam side up on paper; dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with a cotton towel and loosely with plastic and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put another 9-inch cake pan inside a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats.

When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove plastic and cloth from dough. Pull paper handles and lift dough. Place inside the second (heated) cake pan. Spray surface of bread with a fine mist of water. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes.

Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.

Peel off paper and cool on rack.