This bread needs a biga – a starter – so plan accordingly!
adapted from The Italian Baker by Carol Field
Biga
- 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 1/4 cup water (room temperature)
- 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Stir the yeast into the warm water and let stand until creamy – about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining water and then the flour, one cup at a time.
Mix with the paddle attachment on the mixer at the lowest speed about 2 minutes.
Remove to a slightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at cool room temperature for 6 to 24 hours. The starter will triple in volume and still be wet and sticky when ready. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Bread
- 3/4 c biga
- 3/4 cup water; At Room Temperature
- 1/4 cup rye flour
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- Cornmeal
Mix the starter and water with the paddle in a large mixer bowl. Mix in the flours and salt. Switch to the dough hook and knead until softy and elastic, about 4 minutes. Finish kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface, sprinkling with additional flour, until smooth but still soft.
First Rise:
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it has numerous bubbles and blisters under the skin.
Shaping and Second Rise:
Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface without kneading it. Shape into a round loaf. Let it relax under a cloth for 20 minutes. Line baking sheet or peel with parchment paper and flour the paper generously. Roll ball into a fat cylinder and place seam side down on the paper. Dimple the loaf all over with your fingertips or knuckles, as for focaccia, to keep the dough from springing up. The dough should feel delicate but extremely springy.
Cover the loaf and let rise until doubled, with many visible air bubbles, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
Baking:
Thirty minutes before baking, heat the oven with a baking stone in it to 425° . Sprinkle the baking stone with cornmeal. Very gently invert the dough onto the stone. Gently remove the parchment paper. Immediately reduce the heat to 400° and bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
- 2-Day Rise Pizza Dough
- A Wholesome Loaf
- Aleppo Tomato Bread
- Bacon and Tomato Swirl
- Bagels
- Barmbrack
- Basic White Bread
- Braided French-Style Bread
- Breadsticks
- Brioche Dough
- Buttermilk Bulgur Bread
- Cheddar Beer Bread Rolls
- Ciabatta
- Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread
- Crusty French Rolls
- Crusty Italian Bread
- Crusty Italian Sourdough
- Danish Pastries
- Double Wheat Whole Wheat Bread
- Five Grain Bread with Walnuts
- Focaccia
- Focaccia
- Focaccia Genovese
- Focaccia Ragusata
- Grandmother’s Dinner Rolls
- Guinness Rye Bread
- Hamburger Buns
- Hamburger Buns
- Hamburger Buns
- Honey Corn Rolls
- Hot Cross Buns
- Irish Country Bread
- Italian Easter Bread (Pinza)
- James Beard Basic White Bread
- James Beard Single Rise Loaf
- James Beard’s French-Style Bread
- Japanese-Style White Bread
- Kanelsnurror
- Knotted Dinner Rolls
- Kolaches
- Medieval Bread
- Milk Bread
- Molasses Oatmeal Bread
- Multi Grain Sandwich Bread
- Multi-Grain Seeded Bread
- No Knead Artisan Bread
- No-Knead Walnut Raisin Bread
- No-Knead White Bread
- Oma’s Christmas Stollen
- Onion Poppy Seed Bread
- Pain Francais
- Pan Rustico – Rustic Spanish Bread
- Pane al Pistacchio
- Pane all’Olio
- Pane Bianco
- Pane di Como Antico
- Pane Pugliese
- Pane Siciliano
- Panettone
- Panini con erbe aromatiche
- Pecorino Cheese Bread
- Pepper Bread
- Pepper Bread
- Pistachio Onion Bread
- Pistachio, Onion, and Cheese Bread
- Pita
- Pogaca Rolls
- Pumpkin Rolls
- Russian Black Bread
- Rustic Bread
- Rustic Potato Bread
- Rustic Red Fife Bread Flour
- Rye Berry Rye Bread
- Rye Bread
- San Francisco-Style Sourdough
- Semelle
- Soft Pretzels
- Sourdough Country Bread
- Tartine’s Sourdough Bread
- Tomato Bread
- Walnut Raisin Bread
- Walnut Raisin Sourdough Bread
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread
- Wisconsin Spicy Cheese Bread