You really need a Kitchen aid or a food processor for this one though.
2 cups hot water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp traditional yeast
Mix and set aside for 10 minutes
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
To the flour salt add the yeast liquid after it's well started and mix with the batter paddle just till everything is wet and leave it to rest for 10 minutes. It will be like a thick pancake batter at this stage. After the rest beat it vigorously still with the paddle till it starts to climb the paddle. Switch to the dough hook and continue until the dough forms a ball and all gathers on the hook, then 5 minutes longer. You will be beating it for 15 - 25 minutes and in the second half you need to be there to supervise your Kitchen Aid or it might walk off the counter gradually. It's a really elastic dough once it is worked up.
Transfer into a oiled bowl and turn the ball over so it has oil on top as well and place in a warmed oven to rise until at least tripled. Then turn out onto a generously floured countertop and push about with an oiled spatula till you have a square or rectangle. Try and make the turn out and shaping not loose all the air bubbles, this is not a dough you punch down and knead again.
Cut the dough into squares for buns or long strips for loaves. I made 4 loaves with this. Separate the sections by gently lift/sliding them and the flour under them with an egg turner. Dust tops with flour. Leave on the counter to rise 15 minutes, start the preheating of the oven to 500 degrees.
Now the only tricky part, very gently flip the buns or loaves onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. I made mine too long so I had a tough time of this without special tools so consider that in your plan. Buns would have been better and the egg turner would have worked. Regardless all the great air pockets are on top and you need them switched to the bottom so they will rise through the bread as it bakes so these must be turned after the rise. Put them in the oven in shifts if needed, I did 2 bakes and the second ones waited fine, no excess rise. Done when internal temp is 205, 15 minutes for loaf size.
Don't dismay if your loaves or buns fall or distort shape as you flip them, the oven spring on this recipe is unreal, they pop right back up. This is a bit salty for my taste, but for some it would be just right.
Cool on a wire rack then use a clean cloth to brush off any excess flour that remains on the loaves.
