3/4 cup dried cherries (dried cranberries or apricots would be good, too)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 and 1/2 cups warm water (about 95 degrees)
6 quart or higher dutch oven or 2 smaller dutch ovens, if making small loaves, or any large oven-safe pot with a lid.
Stir the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water. The dough will be pretty sticky– you want a sticky dough! Gently shape into a ball as best you can. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Set on the counter at room temperature, and allow to rise for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and be covered in air bubbles.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using lightly floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper. (Large enough to fit inside your pot and one that is safe under such high heat.
Using a very sharp knife, gently score an X into the top. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap and leave alone for 30 minutes.
During this 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place your dutch oven (with the lid) or heavy duty pot inside for 30 minutes so that it’s extremely hot before the dough is placed inside. After 30 minutes, remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully place the dough inside by lifting it up with the parchment paper and sticking it all– the parchment paper included– inside the pot. Cover with the lid.
Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for 8-10 more minutes until the bread is golden brown. Remove pot from the oven, carefully remove the bread from the pot, and allow to cool on the counter for 30 minutes before breaking/slicing/serving.
Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 week.