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1
Ensure the lievito madre is active: it should have been fed within the previous 8–12 hours and show a domed crown with a light, sour smell. Dissolve it in the cool water, stirring until no large clumps remain. The liquid should be slightly cloudy and smell faintly acidic.
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2
Add the flour (and semolina if using) and salt to the starter liquid. Mix minimally — bring the mass together until no dry flour remains, then stop. Do not knead further. The dough will be rough and shaggy; this is correct. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
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3
Perform two or three sets of folds over the first two hours: lift one side of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it over the centre; rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. The dough will gradually tighten and gain surface tension. After the final fold, leave it undisturbed.
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4
Allow the dough to ferment at cool room temperature for 12–24 hours. This is where the dish lives or dies: an insufficient fermentation produces a flat, dense loaf with no tang and a thin crust that will not keep; a properly fermented dough will have increased noticeably in volume, feel pillowy and gas-filled when pressed lightly, and carry a clean, pleasantly sour smell.
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5
Turn the dough onto an unfloured surface. Shape it into a large, taut round by folding the edges inward and under, creating surface tension without deflating the gas. The exterior should feel taut and spring back slowly when pressed.
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6
Place the shaped loaf seam-side up in a floured cloth-lined bowl and rest for 1–2 hours at room temperature while the oven heats. Place a baking stone or heavy Dutch oven inside and heat to the highest setting the oven allows — at minimum 230 °C, ideally 260 °C — to simulate the fierce radiant heat of a wood-fired oven.
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7
Turn the loaf onto the hot stone or into the Dutch oven (lid on if using). Bake at high heat for 45–55 minutes. Remove any lid after the first 20 minutes to allow the crust to darken. The loaf is done when it is deeply dark — nearly black in patches — and sounds hollow when the underside is knocked sharply with a knuckle.
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8
Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and cool for at least 2 hours before cutting. The crust will crackle and contract as steam escapes. Do not wrap in plastic; wrap in cloth to preserve the thick crust.