Tag Archives: dough starter

Pugliese

Posted on April 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

Apulia, or Pugliese in English, is the heel off the Italian boot. It is the most productive agricultural plain in all of Italy. And from these plains grows the durum wheat used to make traditional Pugliese. It is a very wet dough, comparable to ciabatta, but slightly more dense.

This is not a quick bread to make. The hour and a half of flouring and folding is time-consuming but without it, it just wouldn’t be Pugliese! I used bread flour exclusively for this recipe as I didn’t have a close source for fancy durum wheat. This bread showed me the necessity for being able to properly make a boule. The softness of the dough makes it want to succumb to gravity more readily than a lesser hydrated dough. I made one in a banneton and the other simply on a floured peel. Interestingly, both turned out the same shape! I baked one of the loaves a bit longer than the other giving it a marvelous deep caramel colour. What I didn’t expect was the crackling that occurred when I took it out of the oven. The crust began to fissure and made quite a pronounced snapping sound! Note that these loaves do indeed soften as they cool. The taste is a nutty soft texture with a chewy crunchy crust. Viva Italia!

: Pugliese

: Pugliese loaf with cracks in the crust

: Pugliese, cut. Notice the dark crumbs from cutting the bread.

French Bread

Posted on January 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

Considering France’s long and illustrious culinary history, I find it somewhat amusing that bread pops to mind immediately when we think of French cuisine. Those who have been to France (or most any place in Europe) will surely recall the first encounter with its bread. Crispy dark crust and an airy, almost nutty, inside.

I was excited to make this recipe for a couple reasons. I had recently purchased an 8″ round banneton from Frieling and a 24″ x 20″ linen couche. I liberally seasoned it with flour, shook it out, the floured in again. Since I doubled the baguette recipe, the first batch used 1/2 (about 1 lb) of dough for the baguette and the other half for the banneton. The second batch went into the banneton and made a very large loaf. The banneton I bought because of its rustic look and ease in use; the couche because I felt I need a bit of a hand with shaping my baguettes. I am happy to say that both work as hoped! However (and there’s always a “but”), I wouldn’t waste the money on buying a couche from a cooking store. Save the money and go to the fabric store and get some heavy linen. If you’re good with the sewing machine, make a hem; if not, don’t worry. To season the couche, rub the flour into the fabric. You’ll be surprised at how much flour the cloth will soak up. And also, don’t use non-stick spray on it; and finally, don’t wash it! I found that the couche gave an added element to the shape of the baguette. When I do this recipe again, I plan on giving the dough a slightly shorter ferment, then scale and shape, then a longer proofing period. I didn’t get the larger holes in the bread that I wanted. It was still quite tasty. Thanks to my friend Michael, instead of slashing the top of the baguette, scissors were used to make the pattern on top.

: Baguette

: Boule proofed in a banneton

: Large boule shaped in a banneton

Focaccia

Posted on January 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Where do I start?!? This was truly a labour of love. First let’s talk abut the poolish. Poolish, by the way, is the type of starter used in this recipe. It was named for the Polish immigrants who brought this pre-ferment to France in the mid nineteenth century. This was made the previous day. So two things that I didn’t like about this recipe: 1) the time it took to make, and 2) the size of the loaf it made.

It took me the better part of the afternoon to make this recipe. The dough was difficult to handle due to the high ratio of water. It was sticky and viscous. The most annoying part of the process was the hour and half of folding before the hour rest, then the makeup followed by a two hour proof. Whew! For the topping I used some tepenade I had made a few days ago though I’m sure whole olives would have made for a better presentation.

As for the size…holy buckets, it’s HUGE! It filled the entire pan and rose about 2 1/2 inches; slightly unwieldy and unless cut before serving, would fill your table. I would suggest making it in two pans.

All said and done, the texture was like silk with large holes and a distinctive taste contributed by the poolish. Simply delicious but I wonder if it would have been so delicious if it took me 3 hrs instead of 8! Don’t worry, I’ll make it again.

: Focaccia