Artisan Bread - in a pot

This has got to be one of my all time favorite recipes for baking my own bread. Everything about it is just amazing - first and foremost that it tastes great, but also the fact that most of it can be made the day before, it requires minimal effort from you, you can vary it in a million different ways, and it always comes out looking great :) 
All you need is 4 ingredients - more if you want to add other flavours - but just the 4 will give you a delicious bread with a thick, crunchy crust...what's not to love! 

Here's the recipe

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast - or 5 g fresh yeast
500 g flour - or 3 cups
2 tsp salt
375 ml water - or 1 1/2 cups

If using fresh yeast, dissolve the yeast in the water and add the salt and flour. If using dry yest, mix flour, salt and yeast and add the water. 
Stir until well combined and cover the bowl with cling wrap. Let rise for 12 - 18 hours - not in the fridge. When you are ready to bake the bread, turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently fold the sides over the middle of the dough till you have a round 'ball'. Do not knead the bread. Let it rest for 30 min. 
In the mean time, heat the oven to 230 degrees celcius. Take a relative big pot - I use a 10 L IKEA pot - but any pot that can go in the oven is fine - and heat it in the oven. 
When the dough is ready, take out the pot, cover the bottom with a bit of flour and gently drop the dough, upside down, into the pot*. Put the lid back on and bake it in the oven for 30 min. After 30 min. remove the lid and continue baking for another 15 min. - or until the bread is nice and golden brown. 

*(Don't worry that the dough looks like a bit of a mess when you drop it into the pot. It is quite a difficult task to do considering the stickiness of the dough and the hot pot - but don't worry - no matter how bad it look when it goes into the pot, it always comes out looking great) :)

Enjoy!