I like to use a stand mixer for this recipe simply because it makes it super quick and easy - you can knead by hand also (see notes below).
Add warm water, sugar, yeast and sourdough discard to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix them together until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is somewhat frothy.
Add the flour to the bowl and knead for a few minutes until a very rough dough has formed. Allow this to sit for 10 minutes.
Add the salt to the dough and use your stand mixer to knead the dough until it's smooth and pulling away from the edge of the bowl. This will take around 3 to 8 minutes (depending on the strength of your stand mixer).If you feel the dough is a little dry, add a touch more water. Similarly, if it's too wet, add a little extra flour. I use 10-20g of semolina flour at this point if the dough is too wet. Once the dough is kneaded, transfer into a bowl.
Cover the bowl in cling film and set it somewhere warm for 1 - 2 hours. It really depends on the temperature of your house with this one. If your house is warm, 1 hour will be plenty. In the depths of winter or with air con, you may need more than 2 hours. You just want it to double in size, no more or it won't rise in the oven.
Once the dough has doubled, you'll need to shape it and place it into a banneton (see notes in the main blog post for shaping).I like to shape this into a batard and dust liberally with semolina or cornflour for that rustic "pane di casa" feel. Around 45 minutes before you want to put your bread into the oven, you'll need to put a dutch oven into the oven and preheat it to around 220C/430F.
You'll need to let the dough proof - but because you're using commercial yeast it really won't take long. If your kitchen is warm, I recommend proofing in the fridge (or even the freezer) to ensure that it doesn't overflow the banneton.It will take around 30 minutes generally. Once you're ready to bake, tip the shaped dough onto a piece of parchment paper (the top of the dough becomes the bottom).
Score your dough if you're able to - otherwise just leave it and it will open up naturally in the oven.
Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven and remove the lid. Use the parchment or baking paper as a handle to gently place your discard bread inside the pot and put the lid back on.
Bake in the oven, with the lid on for 30 minutes at 220C/430F. Then remove the lid of the pot and bake for a further 10 minutes at 200C/390F. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Try to let it cool for at least an hour before cutting it. It will still taste great if you cut it hot, but it's so much easier to cut if you let it cool!