"Doug Kanter" > wrote in
:

> "Ken Knecht" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Doug Kanter" > wrote in news:7%CRf.17473
>> :
>>
>>> How about making a sourdough starter, and using that to make the
>>> bread?
>>>
>>
>> I've never tried sourdough bread. Something to look into.
>
>
> Here's a good recipe for your first try:
>
> Source: In Nonna's Kitchen, by Carol Field
>
>
>
> Pane Casareccio (Homemade Country Bread)
>
>
>
> Flour, water, salt and yeast: the breads of the Italian countryside
> combine four of the most basic ingredients on earth to create
> delicious country loaves with thick chewy crusts. Many years ago I
> learned to bake Italian country bread with Nella Galletti at her home
> in the Umbrian countryside and later discovered that Annita di Fonzo
> Zannella makes her bread the same way. Nella made traditional saltless
> bread for which she kept her ingredients in a large madia, a deep
> wooden chest that held both flour and the natural yeast that came from
> keeping some dough of that week's baking and setting it aside to be
> used as leavening for the next week's bread. She mixed the starter
> with the flour and then began pouring scoops of water directly into
> the mixture, beating and mixing and kneading for at least 40 minutes.
> The amounts were immense! She kneaded so vigorously that the dough
> became like a huge blanket that she kept turning and pummeling and
> kneading some more until it was elastic and silky and very resilient.
> Her muscles had a definite workout. After she allowed the dough its
> initial rise, she shaped it into rounds, let them rise again on
> floured canvas she pleated between loaves so they wouldn't fuse, and
> set them on a board. When they were ready-doubled and full of air
> bubbles-she called a neighbor, who hoisted the board onto his shoulder
> and took its many loaves to the hot wood-burning oven. Nella swabbed
> the oven with rainwater that she had saved to create steam, and then
> she slid in the rounds. An hour later, out came the crunchy crusted
> bread that would feed Nella, her family, and neighbors for a week.
>
>
>
> When I explained to Nella that Americans don't have such natural
> starter available to them, she suggested making a biga, a starter with
> almost no yeast at all, and letting it rise for two days. You don't
> have to do anything for the two days in which it sits at room
> temperature, but you must be sure to start your bread baking with
> enough time to allow the biga to ferment and develop its rich flavor.
>
>
>
> Biga (bread starter)
>
> ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast or 1/10 small cake fresh yeast
>
> ¼ cup warm water
>
> ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
>
> 2-1/2 cups (about 11 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
>
>
>
> Dough
>
> 1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, or ½ cake (1/3 ounce) fresh yeast
>
> ¼ cup warm water, 105 to 115 degrees for dry yeast, 95 to 105 degrees
> for fresh
>
> 2-1/3 cups water
>
> 1 cup (about 8 ounces) biga, measured at room temperature
>
> About 5-1/2 to 5-3/4 cups (approx 1-3/4 pounds) unbleached all purpose
> flour
>
> 1 tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt
>
> Cornmeal (for baking stones or pans)
>
>
>
> To make the biga: Stir the yeast into the warm water and let stand
> until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining water and then
> the flour, 1 cup at a time. If you are making the biga by hand, mix
> with a wooden spoon for about 4 minutes. If you are using a
> heavy-duty electric mixer, mix with the paddle at the lowest speed for
> about 2 minutes.
>
>
>
> Rising: Place the sticky biga in a large lightly oiled bowl, cover
> with plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature for 24 to 48
> hours. The starter will triple in volume, then fall back upon itself.
> It ill still be wet and sticky when you use it, so moisten your hands
> when you scoop some out to measure it. Cover and refrigerate after 48
> hours. You may keep the biga refrigerated for up to 5 days.
>
>
>
> To make the dough by hand: Stir the yeast into the warm water in a
> large mixing bowl; let it stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add
> the room temperature water and the biga. Squeeze the biga through
> your fingers to break it up and then stir it vigorously with a wooden
> spoon until the water is chalky white and the starter is well
> shredded. Begin stirring the flour mixed with the salt, 2 cups at a
> time, into the yeast mixture. Beat well with a wooden spoon until the
> dough comes together into a shaggy moist mass. Flour your work surface
> and your dough scraper and keep a mound of flour nearby for your
> hands. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and, with the help
> of the dough scraper and as little flour as possible, turn and knead
> the dough until it gradually loses its stickiness, although it will
> remain wet.
>
>
>
> By heavy-duty electric mixer: Stir the yeast into the warm water in a
> large mixing bowl; let it stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add
> the room temperature water and the biga. Squeeze the biga through
> your fingers to break it up and then stir it vigorously with a wooden
> spoon until the water is chalky white and the starter is well
> shredded. Add the flour and salt and with the paddle attachment mix
> until the dough comes together. You may need to add up to 4
> tablespoons more flour, but the dough will never come away from the
> sides and bottom of the bowl. Change to the dough hook and knead for
> 4 to 5 minutes at medium speed. You may finish kneading the sticky
> wet dough by hand on a well-floured surface, sprinkling the top with
> up to 4 tablespoons more flour.
>
>
>
> First Rise: Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. If you have a
> straight-sided translucent plastic container, please use it so that
> you can mark exactly where the dough starts and measure its progress
> until it has tripled. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise
> until tripled and full of air bubbles, about 3 hours.
>
>
>
> Shaping and second rise: Turn the sticky dough out onto a
> well-floured work surface. Flour a dough scraper and have a mound of
> flour nearby for your hands. Pour the dough out of the bowl but do
> not punch it down. Lightly flour the top and cut into 3 equal pieces.
> You can moisten your hands in water if the dough seems very sticky;
> wet hands do not stick to wet dough. Flatten each piece and roll it up
> lengthwise, using your thumbs as a guide for how tight the rolls
> should be. Turn the dough 90 degrees, gently pat it flat, and roll it
> up again, still using your thumbs as a guide. Shape each piece into a
> ball by rolling the dough between your cupped hands, using the surface
> of your work table to generate tension and create a taut skin on the
> surface of the dough. Place the loaves on floured parchment paper or
> waxed paper, set them on baking sheets or pizza peels, cover with a
> heavy cloth, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
>
>
>
> At least 30 minutes before you plan to bake, heat the oven(s) to 450
> degrees with baking stones inside.
>
>
>
> Baking: Just before baking, sprinkle the stones with cornmeal.
> Gently invert the loaves onto the stones-you may leave whatever
> parchment paper has stuck to the wet dough for 15 minutes or so and
> remove it once the dough has set. You may prefer to slide the loaves
> onto the baking stones without turning them over; you may also leave
> them on the baking sheets and set them directly on the stones. The
> break will look deflated when you initially put it in, but will puff
> up like a pillow in no time. Bake until golden brown and crusty,
> about 35 minutes, or until a tap on the bottom produces a hollow sound
> that indicates the loaf is baked. Cool on racks.
>
>
>
> Variation: Use 1 scant cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour, preferably
> stone-ground and 4-3/4 cups (1-1/3 pounds) unbleached all-purpose
> flour.
>
>
>

Thank you.



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