Italian Bread

I love making bread. Our search for the perfect bread began three years ago when my British husband pointed out that in this country, all bread has sugar. All bread. Compared to the offerings in ANY British supermarket, there are pitifully few here, even in fancy bakeries.

Along came Bread Baker's Apprentice. The only experience I've had baking bread before I bought that book was the famous Lahey no-knead bread. I always cheated and kneaded it because I liked the final product better when I did. And it just feels really wrong not to knead bread. I'm sorry Mr. Lahey. But here's the thing: the bread is ok, but it's not great. The taste is pretty bland and the crust loses all crunch after a few hours out of the oven. So I picked up a copy of BBA and started working on the time-intensive recipes.

I started with the recipe for french bread, but never quite got it to work right. Sure, the taste was good, but the structure and crust were sub-par. Not that I blame the recipe - the fault is with me and my inexperience baking. So I threw myself into studying the process and reading BBA cover to cover.

Fast forward to my first attempt at Italian bread. I started with a biga, which is a pre-fermented starter - something that is required to make bread with depth and character. Here is the recipe I used:

2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
3/4 teaspoon dry active yeast (I accidentally used WAY more than this, but this is the correct amount)
1 cup water (room temperature)

Stir together, adjusting flour/water until the dough is neither too sticky or too stiff. It is better to err on the sticky side because flour is easy to add later; water is not. Knead the dough until it is pliable and tacky, but not sticky. It should take 3-6 minutes, and should temp at 77-81.

Oil a bowl, insert dough, cover, and ferment at room temperature until it doubles in size (2-4 hours). When it has doubled, knead lightly to degas and re-cover. Put in the fridge overnight. It can keep there for 3 days, but you can also freeze it in a sealed, airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months.

The next day, use the biga to complete the bread:

3 1/2 cups biga, cut into 10 pieces and brought to room temperature
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (I omitted this)
1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup water, lukewarm (90-100 degrees)

Stir together dry ingredients and add biga pieces, oil and water. Mix until a ball forms, and adjust water/flour if needed to make a slightly sticky and soft, but not tough or overly sticky. Knead the bread for 10 minutes or until the dough is tacky and supple, but not sticky. It should temp at 77-81 and pass the windowpane test. Oil a bowl, insert the dough, and cover. Ferment at room temperature for two hours or until it doubles in size.

Shape the dough into the desired shape (gently), and leave it to proof for 1 hour or until they have grown to 1 1/2 times its original size.

Prepare the oven for baking by turning it to 500 and putting a pan on the bottom shelf (I use a roasting pan or a cast iron). Score the bread and place it on a preheated baking stone or a sheet pan (I use a sheet pan with a Silpat). Turn the oven down to 450, and spray the sides of the oven quickly. Close the oven. After 30 seconds, pour one cup of water into the pan on the bottom shelf, then quickly insert the bread into the oven. Every five minutes, spray the sides of the oven with water and/or top up the water in the pan. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. It should register at 200 degrees in the centre.

Enjoy!