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German country bread

Zorra from 1x umrühren bitte has called upon bakers and bread lovers to bake or buy bread for World Bread Day. Since I had a piece of rye bread left, I decided to include it in the next bread in an ‘old-bread-soaker’. It has been common practice in German bakeries to soak the bread from the preceding day and mix it with the new bread dough. Not only a moneysaving decision: the soaked bread makes the crumb moister, and extends the loaf’s shelf life.

Old-bread-soaker

• 30 stale rye bread, toasted, without the crust
• 100g boiling water

Pour the water over the rye bread and let stand covered for at least 2 hours.

Dough

• 200g whole-rye flour
• 200g dark wheat flour, Type 1050
• 200g rye sourdough, hydration: 100%, made with whole-rye flour
• Old-bread-soaker
• Enough warm water to make a soft dough, approx. 200g
• 7g fresh yeast
• 10g sea salt

Bulk fermentation: 1 hour
Final fermentation: 45-60 minutes. Proof seam side down in floured Brotformen.
Bake: Bake at 240°C for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 170°C and bake for further 60 minutes. This will give a confident lift in the oven and help develop a thick crust.

Slow blogging!

Break coming up. This blog will not be updated until 16 October 2009

P.S. I’m not on vacation. More on a reclusive mission to better baking

I can’t deny a growing indifference to the blogging world though and this blog seems to be in danger of getting repetitive and riddled with clutter from my side. Although it doesn’t concern this blog, I feel blogging has become too much of a “If you call me Einstein, I call you Shakespeare” thing. That alone might be nothing to worry about since it’s human to exchange positive comments or reviews. You cannot really blame someone for not contributing anything new each time (s)he speaks. But the grand perspective cannot be overlooked either. Not only blog-, but also book authors take trivial stuff, dress it up with the help of fancy pictures and try to sell this as something of value, which is a low and bleak thing to do.

On the other hand, the more technical stuff which would really improve one’s cooking or baking skills needs a lot of testing and an almost scientifically exact style of writing, which pretty much means going against the trend of writing in a “breezy” manner. It cannot really be done as a hobby. I felt this blog should not be about me telling a story about how I went shopping and went into the store and how I bought this “super” flour and how I decided to add some salt to the bread dough, which tastes “absolutely fantastic” etc.

Eric Kayser’s Ciabatta

In the wilderness of blogsphere Ciabatta seems to be the most popular of breads. At some point every cooking blog will have a recipe for this classic Italian bread posted. It usually is made with a starter called “biga”, which is a stiff or moderately loose mixture made from water, flour and yeast. Versions made entirely from a natural leaven can be found too. Think BBQ, think an Italian-style dinner, think picnic, Ciabatta is the bread for it.

I have made this recipe by Eric Kayser many times with success. Like all breads from the book “100% pain” this one uses both, a liquid levain and a small amount of yeast, here approx. 0.35% to 100% of flour. The texture is open and light, yet the liquid sourdough enhances the crust and gives the bread crumb some ‘bite’.

Although not a product of rocket-science, it is a difficult bread, and making it requires ‘a experience’ as Borat would say. It commands the baker’s actions at correct times corrsponding to the readiness of the dough to go to the next stage of fermentation. The dough must be handled with care and ease, which is hard because it is a soft dough. By the way, my trials were best when extending the final fermentation to the point of over-proofing.

‘La Ciabatta’ (makes 2 smallish ones)

• 250g strong white flour (here: German Type 550)
• 175g barely handwarm water
• 75g liquid levain, hydration: 100%
• 7g sea salt
• 1g fresh yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in the water, let stand for 20 minutes, then mix with the other ingredients to a soft dough. Put it into an oiled bowl. Let stand for 2 hours,folding the dough every 30 minutes. The dough should have risen but not doubled or be too puffy.

Put onto the floured workbench, divide into two pieces, pre-shape into rectangles and put onto a rye-floued towel. Let rest for 45 minutes. Turn the pieces of dough over and put onto baking paper, stretching them a little. Let rest for another 45 minutes.

Optional: Slash with one deep cut diagonally to release extra tension (the dough’s, not yours)
Not optional: Put into a 240°C hot oven, which has been heated with a bowl of water sitting on the floor of the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes reducing the heat to 220°C.

Pizza forever

Just to follow up on the pizza topic. I made seven pizze last week and as usual futzed around with the dough. This was my take on a recipe I caught on TV and might have been riddled with many errors, especially because there is never a pen handy when I watch TV.

Yeasterday I made another pizza dough which I think is very good too, even better than the one I posted about. Perhaps running the risk of making it sound like a tad too intricate; I’m trying to keep flavors separated to create clear contrasts. For example, no olive oil in the dough and only vegetable oil to prevent the dough sticking to the plastic bag I use for retardation, i.e. slow rising in the fridge overnight. Then I use a good splash of an everyday fruity olive oil for the finished pizza as flavoring. Perhaps the most ottimo result to date. Also made the dough made by hand (not counting the dough scraper).

In fairness, the oven I am using unleashes an inferno of above 350°C onto the unsuspecting dough, baking it in a closed space and in the proximity of two red hot heating elements and a thin baking stone. It’s not an absolute prerequisite but closer to a real pizza oven than the one I bake bread in.

Impasto per pizza ‘modo mio’ (makes 3 crusts)

• 200g strong white flour (50%)
• 200g plain flour (50%)
• 260g cold water (65%)
• 4g fresh yeast (1%)
• 5g sea salt (1.25%)

Dump the flour onto the workbench, distribute it a little and make a big well in the center. Pour the cold water into it. Move one hand in circular movements gradually picking up the flour. When everything is a lumpy mass and there are no dripping wet spots, rub hands clean, use the dough scrapter to amass this white crumbly stuff in the center and knead briefly to a soft dough. Now add the yeast and keep kneading, last add the salt and finish kneading to a smooth and soft and sticky dough.

Check this video at the 1:30 mark to see how a proper baker would mix dough by hand.

Let the dough rise for one hour. Put the dough into a plastic bag, which has been brushed with vegetable oil on the inside. Seal and put into fridge overnight. The next day take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for 45 at room temperature. Divide into three pieces, shape into tight little balls and let rest covered for 1 hour. Shape pizze, spread with your favorite pizza sauce. I use crushed or blitzed canned tomatoes. Try to get rid of the seeds that are inside the tomatoes, since they taste acidic. Add the cheese, then toppings. The finished pizza can be drizzled with olive oil for flavor and a glistening finish. Many more things can be added once the pizza is baked, like prosciutto, rucola, basil, fresh oregano or even already cooked meat.