Put the flour, salt and yeast into a large bowl and stir together.

Make a well in the centre and pour in approximately 300 ml of the water, stirring to start bringing a dough together.

Gradually add more water while stirring to form a wettish but still firm rather than sloppy dough. Stir well so there are no dry bits of flour, adding an extra splash of water if necessary.

Tip: see image in blog post for how the dough should look.

Place in a large reusable polythene bag, or cover the bowl, and leave at room temperature overnight, 12 - 14 hours, or until the dough is risen and very bubbly.

Tip: If the room is warm, or if you'd like a longer rise for convenience or to allow more flavour to develop, you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough back up to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.

Stretch the dough

With slightly wet hands, stretch and fold the dough (still in its bowl) by lifting up the top edge (think of it as 'north') then folding it into the middle. Repeat with the 'east', 'south' and 'west' sides.

Repeat the process twice more to get a plump, relatively round piece of dough.

Fold the dough

Sprinkle flour generously over your work surface (ideally first covered with a silicone mat to reduce sticking) then scrape the dough onto it.

Fold the dough over itself a few times, adding more flour if necessary, until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Cover the dough with the upturned bowl to rest while you complete the next step.

Line 1 large or 2 regular baking trays with baking paper: they should be big enough to fit 8 rolls with room to expand.

Tip: lightly greasing the trays before adding the paper will stop it sliding around.

Dust generously with flour.

Pat the dough into a rectangle approximately 2 - 3 centimetres thick: if it keeps springing back, leave it to rest a few minutes more, then come back and try again. If it sticks to your hands, sprinkle with more flour.

Using a dough scraper or knife, cut the dough into 8 rectangles.

Transfer the pieces of dough to the prepared tray(s) and sprinkle the tops with flour.

Optional: neaten by using a dough scraper dipped in flour to push the pieces into more uniform shapes.

Place the tray(s) in 1 or more large reusable bags and set aside, ideally in a warm place.

Set aside until the dough springs back slowly and leaves an indent when you press with a finger rather than immediately springing back: approx. 30 - 45 minutes.

While the dough is proving preheat the oven to 220°C /200°Fan /Gas 7 /425°F with a shelf in the middle and a deep METAL roasting tin on the bottom shelf (this will be filled with cold water later to create steam and help the bread rise: DO NOT USE GLASS or it could shatter).

Bake the rolls

Place a tray of rolls on the middle shelf of the oven (if you have more than one tray, set the other aside somewhere cool while you bake the first).

Pour cold water from a jug into the hot roasting tin in the lower part of the oven. Immediately close the door.

Bake for 20 minutes without opening the door.

After 20 minutes carefully open the oven door (caution: lots of hot steam may billow out so keep your face, hands etc. out of the way) and take out the tray of rolls. Return the rolls to the oven, sitting directly on the middle shelf this time.

Note: if you only have one tray of rolls to bake you can also discard the tin of water at this point. But if you'll be baking another tray of rolls then pour out the water but return the empty tin to the bottom shelf so it stays hot.

Continue baking the rolls for another 3 - 5 minutes or until golden brown and they sound hollow when you tap their base.

Put the baked rolls on a cooling rack and leave until completely cold.

Bake the second tray of rolls in the same way, adding cold water to the tin on the bottom shelf.

Best eaten on the day of baking, or refreshed by heating as below, or frozen then defrosted and refreshed.

Reheat/refresh

Preheat an oven to 200°C /180° Fan /Gas 6 /400° F or an air fryer on 'Bake' to 160°C /350° F. Rub the rolls with cold water and bake until hot, the outside crisp and the interior soft again: approximately 8 - 12 depending on appliance and how many you're reheating.