Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Stir to combine and add the dried fruit and nuts. Stir to distribute all the ingredients well. Add the water and stir everything together. The dough should be shaggy and a little sticky. Just stir and turn the dough over until there are no traces of dry ingredients.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. The longer you let it sit, the more flavor is developed. After 18 hours, the dough will have risen and may be a shade darker than it was when you started.

Place a piece of parchment paper on the countertop and dust very generously with flour. Wet your hands and fold the dough over on itself a few times to release the air inside the dough. (Wetting your hands will help prevent the dough from sticking to you.) Shape the dough into a round and place it on the floured parchment paper, seam side down.

Dust more flour on the top of the dough and cover the dough by inverting the mixing bowl over the top. (Alternately, you could use a clean kitchen towel to cover the dough, but I find this often sticks to the dough, ruining both the appearance of the bread and the towel.) Let the dough rest like this for up to 2 hours. After the dough has rested for 1 to 1 ½ hours on the countertop, place a lidded cast iron Dutch oven into your oven and pre-heat the oven to 425ºF for 30 minutes.

Then, working carefully, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and take off the lid. Make three slashes in the top of the bread using a baker’s lame or a serrated knife. Use the parchment paper to lift the shaped dough into the pot, paper and all, and cover with the lid. Return the pot to the oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the Dutch oven and let the bread continue to bake until it is nicely browned on top - about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and let the bread sit in it for about 5 minutes. Then, transfer the beautiful loaf to a cooling rack to cool. Although it is tempting to dive right in, let the bread cool for 30 minutes before enjoying.