italian bread experiment 01/07/10

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Heidi Hoerman
Hingham, MA

This made a beautiful, big loaf of bread.

(1 rating)
yield 1 large loaf

Ingredients For italian bread experiment 01/07/10

  • --for the biga/poolish--
  • 1 c
    bread flour
  • 1 c
    water
  • about 1/3
    envelope fast acting yeast
  • --for the bread--
  • 1
    recipe biga
  • 4+ c
    flour, divided
  • 2/3
    envelope fast acting yeast
  • 1 c
    water
  • 1 Tbsp
    coarse salt
  • 1/4+ c
    olive oil

How To Make italian bread experiment 01/07/10

  • 1
    Stir together the biga/poolish ingredients in a large bread bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight (8-10 hours) until bubbly.
  • 2
    To the risen biga/poolish, add the remainder of the envelope of yeast, salt, 3 1/2 cups flour, salt, olive oil and water. Stir well to combine. This will form a very sticky, ragged dough. Cover the bread bowl again and allow to rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
  • 3
    Knead the risen dough, first on a counter greased with olive oil, then on a counter dusted with as little additional flour as possible.
  • 4
    Form the dough into a ball and throw it onto the counter two or three times. The impact relaxes the dough, enhancing the rise.
  • 5
    Place back in the bowl, cover, and allow to rise for an additional hour.
  • 6
    Remove the dough from the bowl and slap it several times onto a lightly floured counter to relax it. Shape it into a rectangle, roll it into a loaf and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut slits across the top at about 1 inch intervals to release the tension on top of the loaf. Allow to rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • 7
    Preheat oven to 500F. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce to 400F. Bake for 35 minutes.

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