Wow! Out of curiosity, I made a batch of this bread over the snowy weekend. I was astounded at how perfectly such a super-simple recipe came out! In my city there used to be an Italian bakery called Bonanzinga's, which made such a phenomenal crusty Italian bread that my New York grandparents (born and raised in Little Italy) asked us to bring them several loaves whenever we visited. Sadly, the bakery closed some years ago and we haven't been able to find bread as good. Until now! I don't know whether it was dumb luck or what, but the two round loaves I made came out so close to Bonanzinga's that the whole extended family was amazed. I did a shortish (2-hour) "refrigerated rise" by putting the big bowl of dough on a shelf in my very cold attached garage because it wouldn't fit in the fridge.) Many thanks for sharing this great recipe!

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