You may also like
Categories:
scraper Rectangular baking stone baking sheet paper Cutting board cooling rack flour water yeast sourdough salt flour
Viewed: 13 - Published at: a year agoIngredients
- Bowl or container
- Spatula
- Plastic dough scraper
- Rectangular baking stone
- Rimmed baking sheet, for the oven
- Dowel or wooden spoon with a long handle or a chopstick
- Parchment paper, cut to the size of the baking stone
- Cutting board or second baking sheet, to move the loaves to the oven
- Cooling rack
- 500 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
- 375 grams water 80 degrees F (27 degrees C)
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sourdough (optional)
- 10 grams sea salt
- Semolina flour, for dusting the loaves
Method
- Combine the flour, water, yeast, and sourdough, if using, in a bowl, mixing together with a spatula or your hand moistened with water for about 1 minute.
- After the ingredients are combined, make a small indentation on the top of the dough.
- Add the salt to the small well you've just made in the dough, and about 1 tablespoon of water to cover it, but don't mix it in yet.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough sit for 20 minutes.
- Moisten your hands slightly and use the dough scraper to loosen the dough from the bowl.
- Rather than knead the dough, you're going to stretch and fold it in the bowl.
- Working from the edges of the dough, pull the dough out to stretch it and then fold it over toward the center.
- You can also squeeze the dough with your fingers to help incorporate the salt.
- If your hands begin to stick to the dough, moisten them again with water.
- Work around the dough and stretch and fold it 12 times.
- This action should take about 1 minute in total.
- Flip the dough over so the folds are underneath and the smooth side is on top.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough sit for another 20 minutes.
- Do the stretch-and-fold action for one more round.
- By now you'll notice that the salt is incorporated and the gluten offers noticeable tension.
- After folding about 12 times, turn the dough over again, cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Do the stretch-and-fold action 2 more times, at 20-minute intervals.
- In the final round, the dough should feel very elastic and should be glistening.
- If it isn't, add a few more stretch-and-fold actions but be careful not to rip the dough.
- Turn the dough over so the smooth side is face up.
- Cover the bowl and let it sit for 6 to 7 hours.
- The goal here is for the dough to rise until it has at least tripled in size, but has not collapsed in on itself.
- By the end of the rise, you might see big air bubbles on the top of the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 470 degrees F (245 degrees C), with your baking stone on the middle rack, 60 minutes before baking.
- In the lower part of the oven, or on the bottom, place a rimmed baking sheet that can hold half a cup of water.
- Place a piece of parchment paper roughly the size of your baking stone on an overturned and lightly floured baking sheet or a cutting board.
- Dust the parchment lightly with a 50/50 mixture of white flour and semolina flour or just white flour and set it aside.
- Flour a two-foot-square area of your counter generously with the flour/semolina mix or white flour.
- Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.
- Using a plastic dough scraper, gently loosen the dough from the bowl and pour it out onto the counter, being careful to keep it in one piece.
- The outer, smooth surface will have landed on the floured surface, becoming the bottom of the dough.
- The top of the dough will be sticky.
- Dust it lightly with flour.
- Flour your hands and gently make a rectangle that's about 3/4 to 1 inch thick and about 10 by 16-inches, with the long side on the east-west axis, or parallel to the edge of the counter.
- Don't fuss over it to make it perfect or you'll compress the dough, losing the open structure of the air holes.
- Sprinkle a thick line of flour across the middle of the dough, moving east-west, marking where you will divide the rectangle in half lengthwise.
- Then sprinkle another two lines of flour through each of those portions, again moving east-west.
- You will cut the dough along the three lines, making four long loaves.
- Using a dowel, the wooden handle of a kitchen spoon, or a chopstick, press on the floured line so the pieces separate.
- A thick, dull tool works well because it joins the dough together at the seam.
- If the tool does not fully cut through the dough, use your dough scraper to finish cutting the pieces.
- Separate the pieces so they are not touching each other and cover them with a light towel.
- This second fermentation will take about 20 minutes.
- When the loaves are ready, they will be very light and spring back within one second when you press your finger very lightly into the dough.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into a measuring cup.
- Sprinkle the loaves lightly with semolina/flour.
- Loosen two loaves gently with the dough scraper.
- If you put enough flour on the counter it won't take much effort.
- Place your hands under the dough at either end of one loaf, then turn it upside down onto the floured parchment paper.
- To prevent the dough from sagging in the middle while you move the loaf, you can move your two hands closer together, slightly crimping the loaf lengthwise.
- The floured underside is now facing up.
- Do this with the second loaf, too.
- (If your baking stone is big enough, you might be able to place all four loaves on the parchment paper and bake them at once.)
- Now, here's the fun part.
- Lightly grab either end of the dough and gently stretch out the loaf to just under the size of your baking stone.
- If it resists, don't pull it-the dough will rip.
- Do the same with the second loaf.
- You can straighten out the edges by gently repositioning the loaf with your dough scraper, but don't fuss too much.
- Open the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cutting board or baking sheet and onto the baking stone.
- The loaves will bake on the parchment paper the entire time.
- Close the oven.
- Take the 1/2 cup water and pour it onto the baking sheet, being careful not to get burned by the steam.
- Shut the oven door.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.
- Do not open the oven until at least 18 minutes into the bake.
- Bake until dark brown.
- Using a peel, or oven mitts, remove the loaves to a cooling rack, and let them stand for at least 20 minutes before eating.
- Repeat the baking method with the second two loaves.
- These loaves are best eaten within four hours.
- If you do not eat all the bread, the loaves can be frozen in a plastic bag.
- When you're ready to eat a loaf, remove it from the freezer until it defrosts and bake it for 5 minutes in a 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) oven to crisp up the crust.
- Once reheated, it will go stale relatively quickly.