I have copy and pasted this recipe that a very kind MNetter wrote out for me - The River Cottage basic recipe and it's brilliant. This is from her post:
1kg strong flour
1sachet yeast
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups water (=600ml. Make with 1 part/cup cold to two parts/cups hot)
It's as easy as one, two, three, or at least one, one, two, three...
Mix it all together. Kneed. To kneed place gunk on work surface. Put one hand into the dough so you are grabbing the third of it closest to you. With the ball of your other hand push the remaining two thirds of the dough away from you so it stretches along the surface. You want to push it about a foot. Then fold the stretched dough back up and turn through a quarter so you can stretch it in a different direction first. When you begin kneeding the dough will be a mess and keep tearing and coming apart. It doesn't matter. Just keep on and you'll find it soon comes together. After ten mins (once you get the hang of the kneeding technique it'll take no time) it should be nice and stretchy. Well done, you have stretched your gluten.
now shape it so it can rise evenly. To do this pull the bit at twelve o clock towards the middle and push it in a bit so it sticks. Turn the dough round a bit and do it again. Do this 8 times till you've gone all the yay round and you have a nice round. Turn it over and put both hands under it supporting it. Move one forward and one back so it spins and the base can stick together nicely from the pressure. Rub a little oil on to stop it drying out, cover and let prove for a couple of hours till at least doubled in size.
Then punch it to knock the air out. Reshape as above. Put the oven on full with a baking sheet in and a deep tray underneath. When the dough is risen again boil the kettle. Put your dough on the hot tray and slash the top. Pour boiling water in the bottom tray. Shut the door. Check after ten mins. If it's browning quite a lot turn it down a touch. I like to take the tray out so it gets a good all over crust (helps it stop drying out in the bread bin) it's ready when it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
It's better for you if it rises longer, aswell as tasting better so i like to use as little yeast as poss.
If you want to prove it somewhere cool overnight it needs to come back up to room temp before going to the oven. Straigt from the fridge this can take ages. I put it in our pantry which is cool rather than cold. Also i tear off a couple of little bits, shape them in to rounds, sprinkle with polenta and cook in a dry pan as breakfast muffins. That puts us on till the loaf's done.
The kneeding and shaping above is from the river cottage bread book and essential imo. I've made all our bread since i learnt it as it's so reliable.