Carbon's Golden Malted Flour --Waffle Ambrosia

                                 Carbon Flour in a restaurant on the Greek island of Poros. [Photo, Teri Carns]

I wish I could say that I grew up in Buchanan in the 1950s enjoying F. S. Carbon Golden Malted waffles. They were, after all, invented there. My oldest brother, who recalls serving Carbon Flour pancakes and waffles at Boy Scout fund-raising dinners said, "It never entered my mind that ordinary people would eat it at home, unless they lived in the big city of Chicago." My next younger brother took over our father's factory, White Welder in the mid-1970s, and recalled helping re-engineer the waffle irons with the young Carbon son who ran the company in Buchanan at time.

Today there are still family connections. A sister-in-law treats us all to Carbon waffles made in one of the early Carbon irons on special occasions. The Iowa sister keeps a supply in her cupboard for kids and grandkids. The oldest brother, who retired and turned speed skater some years ago says that the Olympic Headquarters for training in Colorado Springs regularly serves Carbon Flour waffles and pancakes to the Olympians.

                                  Iowa sister with Carbon Flour stash [Photo by Tom Lazio].

What I found most fascinating over the years were the little cafes in unexpected places with Carbon Flour signs in their windows. Something created in Buchanan had made it into the larger world.  My favorite was the little cafe that featured it on the waterfront in Poros, one of those exotic Greek islands not far from Athens.

                                         The harbor at Poros, April 2010 [Photo, Teri Carns]

The 75th anniversary of  Golden Malted Flour rolled around in 2012. Fred S. Carbon founded the company in 1930 in Buchanan, Michigan, and patented his flour in 1937. In 1968, he got a patent on his waffle iron. In 1998, the company reorganized as New Carbon, and moved to South Bend, Indiana, a few miles from its first home.

Some Carbon history tidbits:

• Carbon has supplied waffles and waffle cones to Disney since the early 1970s.
• Betty Ford served Carbon waffles at the White House when she was first lady.
• In 1986, Fred S. Carbon died, and his son Don became owner of the company.
• He sold in 1998, to Scott Carbon (Fred's grandson) and four of Carbon's distributors who reorganized the company in 1999; it  became New Carbon, and moved to South Bend, after sixty-plus years in Buchanan.
• 2004, Carbon was featured on Emeril Live, the Today Show, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

New Carbon has kept up with the times. In 2013, it makes Gluten-free Carbon flour, and Organic waffle mix in Apple-Cinnamon and Multi-Grain. If you eat waffles in the self-serve breakfast rooms in Hampton Inns, Hilton, or Marriott, or any number of other hotel chains, you may well be enjoying Carbon waffles. Denny's serves them. In 2012, Carbon went mobile with Carbon's Kitchen, its truck for travels to food festivals, fairs, tailgate parties, and more, across the United States.

The recipe is a mystery of course --even when you know the ingredients: "Enriched Wheat Flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Corn Flour, Leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate), Malt Powder, Salt, Sugar, Buttermilk, Artificial Flavor." Nothing spectacular there, but the company has patented the way in which those ordinary things are combined.

Carbon  Golden Malted waffles came to my attention again while reading William Alexander's book, 52 Loaves. He describes his year's worth of efforts to bake the perfect French peasant bread,and along the way mentions Carbon Golden Malted Waffles as the gold standard in waffledom.  The book lays bare some of the mysteries of waffle deliciousness. For better waffles, he says, add more fat (melted butter is best) because it takes the place of water and therefore reduces the sogginess possibilities. Use a waffle iron with deeper indentations to get more surface area crisp. And, he says, use Carbon Malted Flour.

                                                  Carbon flour in its well-known can [Photo, Peg Lazio].
Contact information:

Carbon's Golden Malted
4101 William Richardson Drive
South Bend, In 46628
574.247.2270 • 1.800.253.0590
cs@newcarbon.com

To order your own original Carbon's Gold Malted, or other products, go to: http://shop.goldenmalted.com/Original-Pancake-and-Waffle-Flour/p/GMI-GM&c=GoldenMalted@Flours
© 2013 | Carbon's Golden Malted, Golden Malted and Carbon's Kitchen are registered trademarks of New Carbon Company.

Michigan wheat - A miller's tale

Pears Mill, Buchanan, Michigan, photo from http://www.michigan.org/property/pears-mill/.

Late in the wet and drear October of 1822, the Reverend Isaac McCoy and a small group of settlers arrived at the Carey Mission on a small creek in the southwest corner of Michigan.  In their ox-drawn wagons they brought the essentials -- flour, seeds, seed potatoes, corn, dried fruit, and clothing. They drove and dragged their sheep and oxen, ferrying them across rivers in canoes built as they slogged along. Norma Stevens, in The Real McCoy, told of their arrival and settlement, and more of the story of the town's history.

From the inauspicious beginning on the Potawatomie land around the village of Chief Moccasin grew the town of McCoy's Creek (when the railroad came through, it assumed the "more dignified" name of Buchanan). The Reverend McCoy built the first grist mill, powered by horses, in 1825. Dr. Charles Wallin came from New York state in  1834, and converted an existing sawmill near the mouth of the creek to the first water-turned grist mill.

Pears Mill itself wasn't built until 1853 ( some sources say 1857) when the town had grown to 1,282 citizens. It was known around the area for automation so advanced that the owner, William Bainton, could set the wheels turning and go off to fish. In its early years, the Rural Milling Company took in 500 bushels of wheat daily, and ground out one hundred barrels of flour (weighing 196 pounds each). This "Diadem" flour was all shipped to Bainton's home town of Walton Abbey, Yorkshire in England.

Remarkably, the Bainton (and later Pears) Mill escaped the great fire of 1862, Even though the fire started in a cabinet shop right next to the mill, it was one of the few buildings still standing in the downtown after the townspeople quenched the flames. The merchants and businessmen rebuilt all along Front Street, Main Street, and Days Avenue, better brick structures some of which remain in 2013.

By the 1870s, a businessman from Chicago who was visiting Buchanan could say of Pears Mill that "150,000 bushels of grain were ground [in these mills; the main Pears mill and a rural one owned by him] in the past year, mostly for the local trade, where the flour of this firm finds a ready market on account of its superior quality." He went on to say that "for miles in either direction the farms are fine and the farmers are, many of them opulent. . . . [T] country about Buchanan has almost an air of romance, especially the scenery along the St. Joseph River to the north of the village."

The mill ran until 1983, but only turned out animal feed after 1933. The restoration to its 19th century prime began in 1984, and it reopened for business in 1988.


Michigan winter wheat, May 25, 2013 [Photo, Micki Glueckert]

The town itself thrived until the 1880s because of its location near the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan. It was surrounded by thick stands of walnut, maple and oak trees, considered by some to be the best in the United States. The McCoy's Creek water, part of it directed through the Mill Race, powered sawmills and enabled furniture factories to spring up. In its hey-day, people described Buchanan as 'the wickedest town in the state," "the horse-race and gambling center of the mid-west," and alternatively as "the town with more churches than saloons." More productive lands further west set Buchanan on the road to becoming a ghost town, but with the St. Joseph River dammed to create bigger and better hydropower and enabling the use of electricity, the town rose again as a center for manufacturing  machinery and  truck and auto parts.

Today, farmers around Buchanan plant wheat mainly to feed to their animals. Better wheat lands that are drier and sunnier lie to the west. Pears Mill, however, grinds corn and wheat flours for sale in its gift shop, using the same type of stones that gave William Bainton such a pleasant life in the  1860s.



The Pears Mill in Buchanan, Michigan. 

If you go:

Pears Mill is open during limited hours all summer, but for much of the day on Saturday. Contact them at (269) 695-3844 for hours and special events.

121 South Oak Street

Buchanan, MI 49107

Driving Directions

Buchanan is my hometown, and I have to add: don't miss the Union Coffee House at the corner of Front and Main Street, or the Buchanan Sweet Shop at 205 East Front Street. The Union Coffee Shop has excellent breakfasts and lunches, plus great coffee and music. It's housed in the former bank where I had my Christmas Club account in the 1950s, but it's entirely in the twenty-first century in the quality of its food, coffee and music. The Sweet Shop has its original 1947 soda fountain and booths, and some of the best homemade ice cream anywhere. We hung out there in the 1950s and 60s, drinking Green Rivers eating hot fudge sundaes. Our kids love it still. Prices throughout the area are exceptionally reasonable.

Sources include Norma Stevens, The Real McCoy; William C. Hawes, Tales of an Old Town and The Story of Buchanan; the Pears Mills section of the Buchanan website; and articles in the Berrien County Record.

Wheat, Weather, and Trade Updates, Late May 2013

Michigan winter wheat, heading, May 24, 2013 [Micki Glueckert photo].



The biggest news of the week was the discovery of an experimental GMO wheat in an Oregon field. The U. S. Department of Agriculture said that there are no genetically modified varieties of wheat that are approved for planting in the U.S. or elsewhere. Monsanto said that the field in which the Round-up ready wheat was found had not been used in its testing program a decade ago, and that it did not think that any Round-up ready wheat had gotten into commercial lots.

Japan said that it was cancelling orders for white wheat, and South Korea soon said that it too would halt purchases until it could test the incoming crops. The European Union has a long-standing policy of not allowing any genetically-modified crops across its borders and said that it would test shipments.

Because the U.S. is the world's largest wheat exporter, and because most other countries are nervous about genetically modified crops, the stray seeds could cause sizable economic shakeups. The New York Times article notes that Spain, once the Romans' bread basket, is now a major importer of United States wheat. Egypt, the country in which wheat came to maturity as a crop thousands of years ago, is now the world's largest importer of wheat, and according to a European wheat dealer, might not be in a position to be choosy about the crops that it takes.

As wheat prices fell, then rose, experts speculated about who might benefit -- Canada? Europe? Australia? Australians say that they are selling enough internally to livestock producers that they might have a hard time helping out. Canadians and Europeans are waiting to see how the further testing and investigation being done by Monsanto and the U.S. Department of Agriculture turns out before they take action.

The discovery may come at an awkward time for Monsanto, which has been under attack on social networks and at rallies for its work with genetically modified products. A recent provision in the federal budget bill that eliminated court oversight of Monsanto and others exacerbated consumer concerns. Web sites like Organic Consumers Association and March Against Monsanto promote boycotts and other consumer actions. On the industry side, several supporters and spokespeople said that "literally trillions of meals with GE ingredients have been consumed since these crops were first commercialized in 1996, with no ill effects on anyone attributable to genetic engineering, and that safety record will continue." To protesters with other data, and with concerns about longer-range effects, those are not necessarily reassuring words.

Weather 

Whether the wheat is genetically modified or not, farmers still have to deal with the weather. The Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association said that rains during the weekend of June 1 and into the next week could delay spring wheat planting. Severe storms could harm growing crops. They noted that Europe continues to be unseasonably cold, while Russia is hot, and Australia has the rain that it needed.

The May 31 tornadoes in Oklahoma moved northeast late on Friday, toward Missouri and Illinois. Much of the Midwest is due for thunderstorms, hail, and rain.. But as the weather moves away from the Plains states, better growing conditions will return. Wheat in the Pacific Northwest and mountain states will have calm sunny days as well.



Michigan winter wheat field, May 24, 2013 [Micki Glueckert photo.]

Other news

The National Association of Wheat Growers is still focused on the agriculture bill making its way through Congress. It's interested in the proposed Clean Water Act regulations that the National Association of Wheat Growers says would "dramatically expand" oversight of wetlands and waterways. The NAWG notes that the U.S. Wheat Association forecasts of a doubling of  wheat trade by the year 2050, without providing details of where the increased crop yields or farm land will come from.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest, a blog sponsored by the herbicide company Syntenga and others, follows the lives of several families who contract to harvest crops throughout the U.S. and into Canada.  Using their own combines, trucks, and other equipment they bring in wheat, soy, corn, barley, and other grains for farmers throughout most of the United States, and into Canada. They've just started publishing again, as they prepare for a new season, and start spreading out to fields across the country for the 2013 harvest.


Another Michigan winter wheat field, May 24, 2013 [Micki Glueckert photo].

Wheat - good for you? Bad for you?

Spanish "Horno" -- oven -- for baking bread, on Camino de Santiago, Spain. [Photo by Teri Carns.]


Anyone thinking about food these days can't help but notice that the topic generates a lot of controversy. Is healthy fast food an oxymoron? Is genetic breeding always bad? Is organic always good? Someone is always trying to change the way that you shop, cook, eat your food.

Alaska wheat, Alaska State Fair. [Photo, Teri Carns.]


Wheat is the focus of many of these controversies.

• Dwarf wheats produce at double or triple the rates of earlier plants, but also need great quantities of petroleum-based fertilizers that result in more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• Gluten-free diets, vs. diets with wheat have some people arguing that no human body is actually capable of digesting grains, and they are responsible for the most pernicious diseases of the last couple of centuries, while others say that grains are important to a healthy diet. 
• Sustainable harvests, vs. monoculture crops is a debate particularly focused on wheat, along with corn and soy. 
• Some authors raise concerns about food as a marker of social class. Locally-grown organic wheats are made into artisan breads at the upper end of the scale, and bleached and enriched flour is used in low-cost breads and hamburger buns at the other end of the scale.
• Nutrient-rich "natural" foods may protect against aging and disease, but foods bred over centuries to serve other needs, such as taste, portability, and disease resistance may lack some specific nutrients.

Baguettes, Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, Anchorage. [Teri Carns, photo.]



A recent headline in the New York Times was "Breeding the Nutrition out of our food." The author, Jo Robinson, made the point that people have selectively chosen variations of food over the centuries that are sweeter and more palatable, while sacrificing bitter medicinal qualities. She omitted the discussion of how people also have selected varieties that are more disease resistant, heavier yielding, easier to harvest, and safer to transport. Those points were not relevant to the point that she was making, and she wasn't obliged to mention them. But they're useful to remember.


Urban dandelion, Anchorage, April 21, 2013. Probably not ideal for your salad. [Photo by Teri Carns]



She describes dandelion leaves, for example, as having "seven times the phytonutrients (chemical compounds found in plants with the potential to reduce the risks of several major diseases) of spinach." One immediately thinks that it is simple prejudice that keeps people from selling dandelion leaves. But they are subject to diseases that spinach is not; they often grow near dairy fields and can be contaminated with bacteria from the cows; and they are difficult to harvest. The price could be as low as $5 a pound, a little more than the comparable spinach, but may only be available for a short time during the year.

Foccacia, April 20, 2013. [Photo by Teri Carns.]


Those who insist that modern food is not as good as that eaten by our ancestors often target wheat. The current arguments against wheat include insistence that the new dwarf wheats contain proteins not found in wheat grown before about 1950. The anti-wheat arguments however, often suggest that humans never had the right enzymes to digest grains, and particularly the proteins in wheat (gliadin and glutenin) that allow breads to rise. Some also argue that after gliadin does get digested, it turns into a morphine-like compound that creates cravings for more wheat. The proponents of a wheat-free diet suggest that wheat raises blood sugar more effectively than does candy; that wheat increases inflammation and insulin resistance,  and that it makes digestion of minerals difficult or impossible.

L'Opera Ristorante, Long Beach, California, fresh-baked bread, March 2013. [Teri Carns photo]


What are the arguments on the other side? There's a counter to each of the claims made against wheat. One author, writing at berkeleywellness.com,  notes that there's no clinical evidence (meaning random, controlled studies that meet the tests for peer-reviewed scientific journals) for the claims that modern wheat affects humans differently or more harmfully than earlier varieties of wheat. Humans have eaten wheat for thousands of years, and in fact the evidence is that human digestive systems developed more amylase after they started eating grains, which permits better digestion of wheat, rye, barley and other grasses.

There is no evidence that eating wheat causes obesity. As the author above at berkeleywellness notes, many other groups of people in the world today eat substantial quantities of the same wheat that we do, and are not obese.

As for the opoid effects of gliadin, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said that there was some evidence that in people with celiac disease, there may be some reaction, not fully understood. But the reaction was not known to occur in those who do not have the markers for celiac disease, which is present in less than one percent of the American population [note -- June 30, 2015 -- this link no longer works -- try this one: at webmd.com].

Seed bread, Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, Anchorage. [Photo, Teri Carns.]

Wheat reports from the Midwest, spring 2013

Winter wheat field, Berrien County, Michigan, mid-April, 2013. [Photo by Micki Glueckert]

This spring, as every spring for thousands of years, people have looked at the sky, and felt the ground for warmth, and  wondered how soon they could plant. In some areas, they look at their winter wheat crops, the only thing growing during the first spring days. 

For a blog about wheat, it makes sense to follow the wheat as it grows around the U. S., and the world. Wheat is something of an experimental crop in Alaska fields, so I sweet-talked a couple of my Midwest sisters into taking some pictures of winter wheat fields in Michigan and Ohio. Throughout this summer and fall of 2013, I plan to post regularly about wheat crops and harvest around the world.

Wheat, unlike most grains, can be planted both in the spring and the fall. Called 'winter wheat" when it's sowed in the mild autumn days, it goes dormant over the winter. As soon as the fields warm up, the leaves turn green and begin to grow again. Moistened by the snows, and ripening early, winter wheat escapes the scorching midsummer days.

                Winter wheat field with grain silos, Berrien County, Michigan April 28, 2013 [Photo by Micki Glueckert]

Southwest Michigan winter wheat

I grew up in Berrien County, Michigan, noted for its fruit orchards, and (these days) vineyards. Turns out that wheat of any sort is not a prime crop there -- the weather's too wet, usually. The farmers who grow it use it mainly for livestock feed. A Michigan State web site with information from 1996 and 1997 showed that the county had somewhere between 500 and 14,999 acres planted in winter wheat in 1996 and 1997, and a harvest of 51 to 69 bushels per acres in 1997. A data site for Berrien County noted that farmers harvested just 2,617 acres of wheat (which might have included some spring wheat) in 2011, compared to 41,400 acres of corn and 51,400 acres of soybeans. The sister who lives on a poultry farm there will be sending along progress reports for Wheatavore.

Northwest Ohio winter wheat

Another sister who lives in Ottawa County at the northwest corner of  Ohio, has also been pressed into service (I'm working on the Iowa sister for more photos). Ottawa County near Toledo has its own share of winter wheat fields. But just as with Berrien County, the Ottawa County land use map shows that corn and soy fields cover much more acreage than winter wheat.

                                   Winter wheat field near Genoa, Ohio, April 20, 2013 -- on the dry side [photo by Betsy Slotnick].

                              Another winter wheat field on May 19, 2013, also dry, but the wheat's much taller [photo by Betsy Slotnick].


We'll be reporting regularly on these wheat fields and others -- their weather, the pests, the commodity prices on the markets, and more. For instance, this site shows the prices for wheat delivered at different times in the future, and tells who's buying what, for May 23, 2013:

Latest Brugler Wheat Report

Wheat futures are trading 9 to 10 cents higher at midday in Chicago. Japan is tendering for 122,222 MT of milling wheat this week, of which 67,897 MT is specified US origin white, HRW and DNS wheat. Results are due on Thursday. Ag Canada raised projected Canadian wheat production to 29.4 MMT, going above the USDA estimate of 29 MMT which was in turn based on Stats Canada (different agency) data.  Algeria bought 50,000 MT of soft wheat for August from the EU. USDA is expected to show net US weekly export sales of 400-700,000 MT for last week. May 31 is the last day for old crop wheat to be shipped.

None of them are in the market for Berrien County wheat, or Alaska wheat either, but it provides another perspective on one of the world's oldest crops.

la Baleine -- the Whale -- arrives on the Homer Spit

             la Baleiene (French for "the whale") on the Homer Spit, its windows reflecting the mountains across Kachemak Bay.

    The freshest food in Homer is easy to find. Just go almost all the way to the end of the Homer Spit, and there on the left is la Baleiene, painted the ocean's blue. Inside, le Cordon Bleu-trained Mandy Dixon greets her guests warmly.

                                        Mandy Dixon surveys the Dixon family's new restaurant, la Baleiene.

     The cafe opened on May 10, little more than a week before we arrived on May 19. The deep familiarity with  restaurants showed -- even though it had been in business only a few days, everything was in order. The staff handled each new customer with ease and consideration, whether they were asking for soup and sandwiches to be served at one of the wooden tables, or choosing pastries and box lunches to go. And the prices

     Mandy's seafood ramen dish, with crab beignet and shrimp toast tied for second in an invitational seafood cooking competition on May 8. While the salmon ramen dish is on the menu, we tried the cafe's chowder, which shows her skill at marrying wild seafood  flavors with a rich cream base and the perfect seasonings.

             The breakfast sandwich, veggie version (you can get it with bacon too ) on grilled ciabbata with fresh greens, cheese, and caramelized onions, leeks and mushrooms. 

     I ordered the breakfast sandwich, with its variety of options -- bacon, egg, more cheese, and always with  bright greens, rich onions, leeks and mushrooms, and a few bites of fruit to set off the other tastes.

      We decided on chocolate chip cookies to go for our dessert, but could have had many other choices.

                                    Hard to beat these chocolate chip cookies that exemplify Mandy's years of training as a pastry chef -- buttery, chocolate filled, rich -- all the things that they should be.

       Catering to locals with a 5:00 a.m. opening, and to visitors with lunch served until 4:00 p.m., la Baleiene is open Tuesday through Sunday at 4460 Homer Spit Road across from the SeaFarers Memorial.

        The to-go items were disappearing fast; the staff replenishes them throughout the day.


       A Homer Tribune article gives more information about the local foods and "Homer Style" cooking that guests will enjoy at the cafe.

The neighbor's no-knead bread

                                          Mark Titzel's no-knead bread, fresh from the oven.

Our neighbor Mark across the street and I debated last week about sourdough vs. Jim Lahey's No-knead breads. Mark wins this one hands down. He came over this evening bearing a rounded perfectly-crusted, never-kneaded loaf, hot from his oven. It made me think that while I'm learning sourdough, maybe I owe it to myself to try this tasty and relatively simple bread.

Mark said that he used the well-known Jim Lahey recipe for 18-hour no-knead bread that was published in the New York Times in 2006 (see below). Since then, Mr. Lahey has published a book, and demonstrated and written extensively about his method.

I'm a complete beginner at breads, and especially at being able to understand the intricacies of 21st century artisan breads. My first loaves, and most of them for the next several decades came from the Rombauers' 1967 "Joy of Cooking." Those were days of milk, sugar, and butter in the bread, even the French bread (click here for a slight variation on that recipe) that today would have simply water, flour, yeast and a bit of salt (click here for a more modern recipe for French bread).

A few weeks ago,  Alyeska Bake Shop gave me some of their sourdough starter, and it couldn't just sit in the back of the fridge. I got busy reading and working with a whole new set of recipes, techniques, and terminologies -- folds, levains, preferments, Dutch ovens, bread stones, and more. I'm too much of a novice to compare the No-Knead technique with the variety of ways in which artisan breads rise and are kneaded, and proofed and baked. But there are similarities. Both the Lahey technique and sourdough breads rely on long fermenting times to give them more complex flavor. Both call for baking breads in ovens much hotter than those recommended in the early "Joy of Cooking." They do without the sugar, butter, and milk that seemed to be standard for the 1960s recipes, and work their wonders with flour, water, yeast and a bit of salt.

                              The no-knead bread -- a light crumb and thin, crisp crust -- ready for jam or cheese.

Suffice it to say that Mark's gift was both beautiful and delicious. Jim and I have been nibbling away all evening, and are looking forward to toasting this and slathering it with butter and homemade raspberry jam (or maybe Matanuska honey) for breakfast on Mothers' Day tomorrow.

Baking the Perfect Loaf of Bread at Home

Formula and Process created by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan St Bakery

Formula: 

3 cups (430g) flour
1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water
¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast
1¼ teaspoon (8g) salt
olive oil (for coating)
extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)

Equipment: 

Two medium mixing bowls
6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic)
Wooden Spoon or spatula (optional)
Plastic wrap
Two or three cotton dish towels (not terrycloth)

Process: 

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.