Baking the perfect loaf

I'm sure I'm the last person to blog about this amazing bread reciepe, but here is goes if you're not familiar with it. This is a modified version of a receipe printed in the New York Times earlier this year, and disscussed at length by Jeffrey Steingarten in Vogue. The trick is that it's a very wet dough that undergoes the first rise for 18-24 hours, and is then baked in a very hot oven in a oven-proof casserole to bake consistently all around. There is no kneading. Which sounds crazy, but it produces a perfect country loaf with a hard exterior and spongy holey bread inside.
Here is is:
3 cups bread flour (can substitue some all-purpose)
3 tsp kosher salt (less if using fine salt)
1 package of dry active yeast or 1 tsp of instant yeast
1 1/2 cup of room temperature water
coarse wheat bran or semolina
You'll also need an ovenproof casserole and a clean tea towel

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. If you're using instant yeast, add it as well. If you're using dry active yeast, proof the yeast (you're "proving" that it works) in 1/2 cup of tepid water (yeast grow at 30 degrees C, and you're at 37 degrees C, so warm but not as hot as you are!), and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Combine the yeast water/ and the other cup of water (do 1 1/2 cups total) with the flour with your fingers or a wooden spoon, just so all of the flour is rehydrated. Cover the bowl well with cling wrap and leave leave in a warm place for 18-24 hours.

The second rise and baking take around 3 hours, so plan accordingly. Thoroughly flour a surface to work on (I meant it about the wet dough), and roll the dought out on it. Dust the dough with flour, and then attempt to spread into a 10 x 10 inch square. Fold this into thirds (over itself) and let sit 15 minutes. Fold in thirds again in the other direction (vertically if the first was folded horizontally) to make a cube. Tuck the folds under the sides so it looks like a smooth ball on top. Heavily flour the middle of your tea towel and sprinkle some of the bran or semolina. Move the dough onto the floured towel and cover with the rest of the towel or some cling wrap. Leave for 2 hours. In the second hour heat your oven as high as it will go (500-550 degrees F) and put the empty casserole inside. After the two hour rise, carefully take the dough away from the towel and put the ball into the casserole. Bake for 30 minutes with the cover on, then another 20-30 (20 is usually enough in our not very hot oven) to finish. Let this sit for 45 minutes or until cool before cutting into it. You won't want to do this, but if you cut right in the steam will escape and you'll end up with a lot of dry bread.

I haven't tried adding much to the bread yet, but some obvious possible additions are pepper, rosemary, nuts, dried fruit, or whatever herbs you have growing in the garden.