Food FAVOURITES

Bread in Italy


I don't eat a lot of bread, but when I do, I want it to be good! Surprisingly, I've not taken a liking to local bread at all. I have yet to find anything other than the rather traditional Italian bread, made with fine-milled white flour, dry powdery bread that spoils in 24 hours and is most definitely not diabetic-friendly. So, I have reactivated my bread journey and started several new sourdough starts, such as Spelt, Rye, and Wholewheat. Hopefully, they will soon be active enough to bake with. In the meantime, I decided to start a pre-ferment and want to share that as it's a delicious second-best bake from my traditional sourdough. It's made with a simple Poolish, fermented somewhere between 4 and 24 hours (the longer, the better). The photo below is the view from my kitchen window, and the days are hot and long as we are now just past the mid-summer mark. I will enjoy some local sheep cheese and local homey on some fresh baked country-style bread. 

Pre-Fermented country Bread

INGREDIENTS & Method:


The all purpose flour that I typically use is organic 01 or 02 which is about 11.7% protein. Your All Purpose flour may be different than what's available in the Europe. If in doubt, choose a flour that has between 11-12% protein and you should be in good. 


Also if you have never made bread before, this dough is 78% hydration and will be slightly sicky. Use 75 less grams water in the final dough and it will be much easier to handle, make sure you well prepped in the kitchen to keep things clean and in order.


PREFERMENT (POOLISH)

150g or ROUGHLY 1 C. AP FLOUR

150g or ROUGHLY 2/3C. WATER (ROOM TEMP)

1 small pinch YEAST

- let the poolish ripen on counter 4-24 hours, preferably at least 16 hours.


DOUGH

280g or 1 1/4C.WATER (98F)

2g or 1/2 TSP YEAST

ALL OF THE POOLISH

350g or 2 1/4 C. AP FLOUR

50g or ROUGHLY 1/3 C. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

10g or roughly 1.5 TSP KOSHER SALT

MIXING DOUGH METHOD

STEP 1 / Combine all ingredients with a spoon. When the dough is shaggy, massage with your fingers, bringing it together, and leave it to autolyse for 30 minutes. 


STEP 2 / Perform stretch and fold in the bowl eight times on four corners. Then, for about 1 minute, I slap and fold on rotation. Leave for 1 hour. 


STEP 3 / Pour the dough onto a well-floured board or table, then tuck, pinch, and roll it into a boule; rotate to create tension and shape the boule until it is smooth and taut. Transfer to a banneton basket and leave to proof for another hour. 


STEP 4 / While the boule is proofing, preheat the oven with your dutch oven inside. When ready to bake, carefully take the proofed boule out of the banneton and place it into a piping hot Dutch oven. Score the top of the boule and place in the oven. 


BAKING TIMES/ TEMPS

METHOD 1: 525 the whole time for 14-18 minutes (spray loaf for steam)

METHOD 2- Preheat Dutch Oven at 500 for 30-40 minutes, bake at 500 covered for 12min and 485 uncovered for additional 8-12 depending on oven and desired color.

METHOD 3: Preheat Dutch Oven at 485-500 for 30-40 minutes, bake at 485 covered for 18 minutes, and 485 uncovered for additional 25-30 depending on oven and desired colour.


Let stand for 1 hour after baking to conserve flavours My first slice of bread was spread with local sheep cheese from the farmers market, toped with honey from mountain bees , sublime !