surface.
Flip the loaves over onto your peel. It might take a couple of batches to bake all your bread, depending on your oven size. You want to make sure not to crowd the baguettes, so two or three at a time should work just fine. Slash the baguettes with three or four traditional baguette slashes. Now, grab three ice cubes from the freezer. Being careful to not keep the oven door open too long and let the heat out, open the oven, slide your loaf onto the stone, throw the three ice cubes into the cast-iron pan and close the door. After 5 minutes, quickly open the door and spray the interior of the oven with water. Continue baking until the loaf is evenly browned, about 25 minutes, and has a nice hollow thump when you tap it on the bottom. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Warm, crispy baguettes are the best.
FOCACCIA
BREAD AS CANVAS
Like the baguette or ciabatta, focaccia is so universally made that almost every cook has some sort of recipe for it kicking around the kitchen. Its simple list of ingredients—flour, water, olive oil, salt, yeast—makes it attractive to the casual baker, and more power to the folks who use a handed-down recipe. We humbly submit our formula here, and we not-so-humbly think that ours is pretty darn amazing. We think a great focaccia should be crispy, with a wide-open crumb; that the dough should never take a backseat to the toppings; and that if you’re not baking it directly on a stone, you’re missing out on the soul of this bread. We’ve suggested several toppings; you can, of course, also devour it plain or concoct your own.
OVERVIEW
• Yield: Six 1-lb/450-g slabs focaccia
• Desired Dough Temperature: 85°F/30°C
• Mixing Time: 40 minutes
• Bulk Fermentation: ~3 hours
• Proofing Time: ~1.5 hours
• Baking Time: ~25 minutes
• Cooling Time: ~15 minutes
12 HOURS BEFORE THE BAKE
Mix your poolish (see here ).
12.5 oz/350 ml 75°F/20°C water
12.5 oz/350 g white bread flour
½ tsp/2 g instant yeast
BAKING DAY
1 lb 8.75 oz/700 g poolish
1 lb 10.5 oz/740 ml 90°F/32°C water
5 oz/155 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb 4.5 oz/1 kg white bread flour 4 tsp/28 g fine sea salt
1 ¼ tsp/5 g instant yeast
In a large mixing bowl, combine your poolish, water and olive oil, and remember to keep that water warm to give your yeast a comfortable atmosphere to grow. Then, dump your flour on top of the liquid ingredients, and mix it by hand for about 30 seconds, until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl regularly; you want all of that flour hydrated and don’t want to see any dry spots. Set aside in a warm place, at least 80°F/25°C, for 30 minutes. If you’re having trouble finding your warm place, it’s time to use your trusty heat lamp.
Sprinkle the salt and yeast on top of the dough and grab a four-finger pinch of the dough and pull. It should stretch out like chunky taffy rather than just tear off. Incorporate the salt and yeast into the dough, continuously pushing the sides of the dough into the middle while turning the bowl. After a minute of this, the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl and developing a bit of a sheen, and you shouldn’t feel any crunchy salt crystals. This dough will be significantly looser, or wetter, than other recipes in this book. Cover the bowl, and put it in your warm place for 30 minutes.
Turn your dough onto a lightly floured surface and give it your four-fold (see here ). It should make a tight little package and after every fold the dough’s volume should increase. It should consistently feel warm and active. Roll the dough over and place it, seam side down, back into the bowl. Repeat every 30 minutes (you’ll fold the dough four times in total). After the fourth fold, leave the dough alone to develop volume for the last hour; those bubbles are what will make up the nice, open crumb of your focaccia. You’re looking for the dough to be strong but
Flip the loaves over onto your peel. It might take a couple of batches to bake all your bread, depending on your oven size. You want to make sure not to crowd the baguettes, so two or three at a time should work just fine. Slash the baguettes with three or four traditional baguette slashes. Now, grab three ice cubes from the freezer. Being careful to not keep the oven door open too long and let the heat out, open the oven, slide your loaf onto the stone, throw the three ice cubes into the cast-iron pan and close the door. After 5 minutes, quickly open the door and spray the interior of the oven with water. Continue baking until the loaf is evenly browned, about 25 minutes, and has a nice hollow thump when you tap it on the bottom. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Warm, crispy baguettes are the best.
FOCACCIA
BREAD AS CANVAS
Like the baguette or ciabatta, focaccia is so universally made that almost every cook has some sort of recipe for it kicking around the kitchen. Its simple list of ingredients—flour, water, olive oil, salt, yeast—makes it attractive to the casual baker, and more power to the folks who use a handed-down recipe. We humbly submit our formula here, and we not-so-humbly think that ours is pretty darn amazing. We think a great focaccia should be crispy, with a wide-open crumb; that the dough should never take a backseat to the toppings; and that if you’re not baking it directly on a stone, you’re missing out on the soul of this bread. We’ve suggested several toppings; you can, of course, also devour it plain or concoct your own.
OVERVIEW
• Yield: Six 1-lb/450-g slabs focaccia
• Desired Dough Temperature: 85°F/30°C
• Mixing Time: 40 minutes
• Bulk Fermentation: ~3 hours
• Proofing Time: ~1.5 hours
• Baking Time: ~25 minutes
• Cooling Time: ~15 minutes
12 HOURS BEFORE THE BAKE
Mix your poolish (see here ).
12.5 oz/350 ml 75°F/20°C water
12.5 oz/350 g white bread flour
½ tsp/2 g instant yeast
BAKING DAY
1 lb 8.75 oz/700 g poolish
1 lb 10.5 oz/740 ml 90°F/32°C water
5 oz/155 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb 4.5 oz/1 kg white bread flour 4 tsp/28 g fine sea salt
1 ¼ tsp/5 g instant yeast
In a large mixing bowl, combine your poolish, water and olive oil, and remember to keep that water warm to give your yeast a comfortable atmosphere to grow. Then, dump your flour on top of the liquid ingredients, and mix it by hand for about 30 seconds, until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl regularly; you want all of that flour hydrated and don’t want to see any dry spots. Set aside in a warm place, at least 80°F/25°C, for 30 minutes. If you’re having trouble finding your warm place, it’s time to use your trusty heat lamp.
Sprinkle the salt and yeast on top of the dough and grab a four-finger pinch of the dough and pull. It should stretch out like chunky taffy rather than just tear off. Incorporate the salt and yeast into the dough, continuously pushing the sides of the dough into the middle while turning the bowl. After a minute of this, the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl and developing a bit of a sheen, and you shouldn’t feel any crunchy salt crystals. This dough will be significantly looser, or wetter, than other recipes in this book. Cover the bowl, and put it in your warm place for 30 minutes.
Turn your dough onto a lightly floured surface and give it your four-fold (see here ). It should make a tight little package and after every fold the dough’s volume should increase. It should consistently feel warm and active. Roll the dough over and place it, seam side down, back into the bowl. Repeat every 30 minutes (you’ll fold the dough four times in total). After the fourth fold, leave the dough alone to develop volume for the last hour; those bubbles are what will make up the nice, open crumb of your focaccia. You’re looking for the dough to be strong but
Similar Books
