Ingredients
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for the sponge
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210g/ 2 cups Whole wheat flour
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50g/ 0.5 cups Rye flour
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40g/ 0.3 cups Semolina flour
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200g/ 6.5oz water
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1 tsp instant dry yeast
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for the dough
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350g/ 3 cups White Bread flour
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all the sponge sponge
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350g/ 1.5 cups water
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5g/ 1 tbsp fresh yeast
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1 tbsp honey
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15g/ 2.5 tsp Salt
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for dusting all purpose flour
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for the final bake Semolina flour
Directions
Italian breads have many variations, in this recipe I have chosen a bread that is relatively easy to make and will give us the excellent crunchy crust Italian bread are famous for.
There is something about homemade bread that brings the house to life. It has to do with the miracle that happens when the bread loaf is coming out of the oven and the house is filled with intoxicating bread smell that no one can resist to. it is encrypted in our most primal senses, bread means life and when we can make this at home, it often seems like a creation.
These days we’re used to buying bread at bakeries however making it at home is not a big deal and we can easily put it in our weekly routine, only when you make bread you can be 100% sure the ingredients are good for you and there are no hidden small print.
so what is Italian bread? it has a crunchy crust and soft spongy texture, usual made from plain white flour or bread flour. this bread dough is very sticky and you will probably think you got the ingredient all wrong when you mix everything but it’s not, it will be shaped as we let it rest.
Like in many Italian bread we use a sponge and let some of the ingredients preferment overnight to develop the enzymes needed in order to levain the bread in a more efficient way and of course to enrich its taste.
Making the Italian bread – No shortcuts
The process of making this bread the proper way will ensure both taste and texture is by following the process in full. The sponge is giving us the tangy flavor and boosting the raising of the bread. Working the dough and letting it rest is giving the Italian bread the ability to develop gluten and elasticity and baking the bread in with moisture (by adding a bowl of water to the oven) in relatively high temperature will give this great Italian bread its distinct hard crust which is the trademark of all Italian breads.
Steps
1
Done
24 hours
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prepare the sponge |
2
Done
15 minutes
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mix the doughIn a separate bowl mix the fresh yeast with the water until dissolved. |
3
Done
10 minutes
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shaping and resting |
4
Done
1 hour
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shaping and dustingafter 1 hour repeat the process of kneading and folding the dough for 2 more times with a time spread of 30 minutes between them, dust with flour as much as needed. |
5
Done
60 minutes
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final shape and restingtake half of the dough and flatten it with your palm. role it into a tight loaf and shape as a ball, place on a baking pan with the stitch line on the bottom and the round part on top. Dust the loaves with regular flour on top and role in the bottom part in semolina flour, rest for another 60 minutes. |
6
Done
45 minutes
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baking the loafs5 minutes before final rest is over cut a small mark about 1 inch in the middle of each of the loaves. |