While the word “focaccia” dates to the 14th century, the Romans baked panis focacius which was a flat bread baked in a hearth. In other words, this type of bread has been around quite a long time. It’s one of the simplest, most straightforward breads to make, and this version of it is super simple, only requiring mixing. No kneading, no folding.
Yesterday, I realized that I hadn’t baked any kind of bread for weeks because of my increasingly busy schedule of work. So, I resolved to remedy that and decided that I’d make some focaccia. I also realized that even though I’ve made it many times, I never posted a recipe here.
Don’t let the title of this bread make you think it’s something special or complicated to make. Focaccia al Rosmarino is simply focaccia topped with rosemary. Here’s the recipe:
Overall Formula
Flour
100.00%
Warm Water
88.00%
Salt
2.00%
Yeast
1.00%
Total %
191.00%
Final Dough
1/2 Bread / 1/2 AP Flour
529g
Water
465g
Salt
11g
Yeast
5.29g
Total Yield
1010g
Other Ingredients
Rosemary (fresh or dried, whole or chopped)
1 tbs
Butter
1 tbs
Olive Oil
~1/4 cup
Mix Dough. Mix all the dry ingredients together until fully combined. Gradually add water and mix dough until smooth. This is wet dough. If mixing by hand, I highly recommend using a Danish dough whisk if you have one. Otherwise, a stand mixer works great!
Bulk Fermentation. If you used a mixer to mix the dough, transfer the dough to a large glass bowl. At this point, you have two options: 1) Let the dough rise at room temperature until the dough ball doubles in volume or 2) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge for 8-12 hours. Option 2) is better as that allows some organic acids to form to give the bread a slight twang.
Final Fermentation. Liberally grease a 9″ X 13″ glass baking pan with butter, then spray or spread olive oil on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the dough to the pan, placed roughly in the center. Transferring will degas the dough, but don’t worry, it will re-gas. Spray olive oil on the top of the dough. Cover with plastic or a tea towel and allow the dough to expand out to the edges of the pan, again doubling in volume. Once doubled, using your fingertips, dimple the dough to spread it out to the extents of the pan and to create little pockets on the top of the dough. Sprinkle rosemary all over the top, then liberally spray olive oil on the top as well. Allow the dough to relax for another hour.
Bake. Bake at 425℉ for 25 minutes (the top should be golden brown). Once baked, transfer the loaf to a cooling rack. Brush butter or olive oil on top then lightly sprinkle salt on the dough.
For years, I’ve occasionally experimented with creating a dough that I could use for both pizza crust and bread, and I finally produced a formula that works wonderfully for both! As you’ll see in the formula below, there’s not much to it. But the kicker for me was using a much lower hydration than I’ve been experimenting with in the past.
My earlier experiments employed hydration 75% and above. I was also using a combination of high-gluten bread flour and AP flour, and sometimes mixed with some Kamut™️ flour. But yesterday afternoon, I thought about an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives where Guy Fieri visited this pizza place and the chef used AP flour only. That got me thinking that if I used just AP flour and lowered the hydration, I could still achieve decent gluten formation, and the small amount of olive oil would help to create a soft crumb if I used it for bread.
As far as bread is concerned, this dough produces a closed but airy crumb that is perfect for rolls, but placed in loaf pans, is perfect for sandwich loaves! For pizza, the lower hydration creates a nice, strong dough that can easily be spread out into a pizza crust. And here’s the kicker: The long, cold fermentation takes place during bulk fermentation. This means you can create the dough the day before, and let it sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours. If you’re making pizza, you can divide the dough immediately after kneading, then let it rise in the fridge. More details below. For now, here’s formula and the final dough to make 6 buns.
Formula
AP Flour
100.00%
Water
65.00%
Salt
2.00%
Yeast
0.60%
Olive Oil
1.30%
Final Dough
AP Flour
825g
Water (lukewarm)
536g
Salt
17g
Yeast
5g*
Olive Oil
11g
Total Yield
1394g 6 X 230g buns 12 X 115g rolls
*Use half the yeast for a 24-hour bulk ferment
I must come clean. I experimented with making longer buns as you can see in the pictures above. They turned out great, but they’re a little too heavy to be used for sandwich rolls. Based on those results, I’d lengthen them to make bread sticks for dipping. And if I’m going to use it for sandwiches, I’d definitely make loaves for loaf pans.
Process
Mix. Combine all the dry ingredients together. Then add the oil and water and mix thoroughly. Knead the dough until smooth (you can use a mixer or do it by hand).
Bulk Fermentation. If you’re making bread or rolls, place the dough into a container (I use a 6-liter Cambro container). If you’re making pizza dough, divide the dough into two or three equal pieces, depending on the crust size you want, form into balls, then place on a sheet and cover with plastic wrap. In either case, place the dough in your fridge with a temperature in the range of 39℉-42℉. Ferment for 12-16 hours. The dough may triple or quadruple in volume during this time. But it’ll be okay if it’s domed in the middle.
If you want to go for a long bulk fermentation, use half the yeast. With that amount, the dough should expand to its fullest in about 24 hours.
Divide and Shape. If you made pizza crusts, there’s no need to divide. Simply gently press out the balls to about 1cm-thick discs, then cover and set aside. For rolls, divide into twelve pieces, then form balls and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. For sandwich bread, divide into two equal portions, then form each into logs and place them into loaf pans. For breadsticks, form into long logs then set on a well-floured couche.
Final Fermentation. Let the dough proof for an hour at room temperature or until it doubles in volume.
Bake. For bread, lightly brush the tops of the loaves or rolls with a little water, then score if you want. Bake at 425℉ for 30 minutes. Use steam for the first 10-15 minutes of the bake to help rise. For pizza, shape, top, and bake as you normally would.
Having been to Mexico several times over the years and being born and bred in California, I have a deep appreciation for Mexican food. But I have a special place in my heart for the Torta, the Mexican version of a sandwich. In the US, when we think of a “sandwich,” what typically comes to mind is a flat piece of meat with some condiments like mayo or mustard, and maybe some lettuce, onion, and tomato.
But the Torta… Ah, the torta. Like a sandwich, it’s meat between some bread, but that’s where the commonalities end, especially with the meat. The meat can be carne or polla asada (grilled steak or chicken), or puerco (pork), camaron (shrimp), polpo (octopus), and my favorite: arrachera (marinated, grilled skirt steak). Heck! You can use any type of meat – yes, cold cuts as well. But instead of mayo, there will invariably be avocado. As for vegetables, you might get some grilled onion or diced tomato. In the states, shredded lettuce or cabbage are often added as well.
What I love so much about the Torta – and I suppose sandwiches in general – is that there are no rules. It’s a wide-open playing field! But that said, there is a type of bread that is commonly used for Tortas, and that is the Telera roll.
The Telera is an oval or rounded rectangle roll that is neither too wide nor long. The crumb is soft and fluffy with a firm but slightly chewy crust, making it perfect to soak up the juices of the various meats that are used. Visually, it is marked by two indentation lines across the top (we’ll get into that later). As for taste, technically, the Telera is a savory roll, but there is a slight sweetness as the dough contains a small amount of sugar.
As you can see in the picture to the left, it’s much like a hamburger bun that is ever-so-slightly longer on one side. This makes it a perfect platform for the grilled meats or seafood that are usually put on it.
Being a baker, after having a few Tortas on my last trip to Mexico just recently, I wanted to learn how to make them. And after a bit of research, and a bit of trial and error, I finally got a formula and recipe that’s both easy and delicious!
Overall Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
60.00%
Butter (Softened)
5.00%
Yeast
1.40%
Salt
2.00%
Sugar
4.00%
Total Percentage
172.40%
Final Dough
Flour
516g
Water
309g
Butter (Softened)
26g
Yeast
7g
Salt
10g
Sugar
21g
Total Weight
889g* 8 X 110g rolls
78ºF/26ºC
*The extra 9g is factored in to allow for process loss.
Mix. Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix to evenly distribute. If you use a mixer, use the paddle at lowest speed. Cut butter into the dry ingredients much like you’d do with biscuits (butter should be soft). Add the water in 3-4 batches, making sure it’s well-incorporated. If using a mixer, switch to the dough hook and slowly add the water until everything has been incorporated together.
Knead. Even though I use a mixer to mix, I enjoy kneading simply because I don’t do it that often as most of my bread “no-knead” bread. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it for 5 minutes. Work the dough into a ball, then place it in a greased bowl (I use olive oil), seam side up. Flip the dough over so the whole ball is covered. Cover the bowl with a cloth.
Bulk Fermentation. Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise and expand to almost double in volume. 45 minutes – 1.5 hours. Remember, watch the dough and not the clock!
Divide and Shape. Punch down the dough to release the gas (no, you don’t want an open crumb), then divide the dough into 110g pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball, then set aside to relax for about 15 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, press each ball out into an oval of about 1 -1.5 cm thick. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the oval, then about a 1/3 of the way from the long side of the oval, press a straw or chopstick down to the board, being careful not to tear the dough. Repeat on the other side, then place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. BTW, you’ll want to move the sections together when you place them on your baking sheet. This is a method of scoring without a blade. And if you find that your dough sticks to your work surface, just use a bench scraper. to lift it up.
Final Fermentation. Once all the rolls have been shaped, cover the baking sheet with a cloth, and allow the rolls to double in volume. This could take 30 minutes to an hour depending on your ambient temperature. Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
Bake. Before baking, lightly brush the tops of the rolls with water, then bake for 15 minutes at 400ºF/200ºC or until golden-brown on top. Don’t let these overcook as the sugar, even though there’s just a little, will caramelize easily so be watchful!
Making a Torta
There are no hard and fast rules when making a torta. Even in Mexico, tortas vary from region to region. And while it’s generally accepted that the Telera roll is the common roll to use, even in Mexico, depending on the region, different bread may be used. For instance, in Guadalajara, there is the Torta Ahogada or “drowned” torta that uses a sourdough bread called “Bilote Saldado.” But for our purposes, we’ll just stick with the basic torta.
If you want something really basic, just put some grilled meat between the halved bread, top it with avocado, then close the bun. This is the way it is normally served in Cozumel. But if you want to get fancier (and I like to get fancier), coat the halves with smashed avocado, spread some shredded lettuce or cabbage (I prefer cabbage), add some sliced tomato, then top that with the grilled meat. Add lime juice for a little zest.
As for meats, you can use pretty much any meat or even seafood. Cold cuts are fine as well. My favorites are:
Carne or Pollo Asada
Arrachera (skirt steak)
Grilled Octopus
Shrimp (Grilled, Sauteed)
Grilled Fish
My two big favorites are Arrachera and Octopus. But truth be told, I’ve only had octopus in Mexico. Not sure how it’s prepared, but it ROCKS!
My daughter asked me if I could make her a garlic-parmesan-rosemary loaf for her birthday, as that is her favorite bread of mine. I normally make this as a sourdough, but because of time constraints, building a levain wasn’t an option. But I didn’t want to make just a straight dough. Not that it would be bland, but for me at least, it would just be a bit boring. Plus, a straight dough just doesn’t keep fresh for long.
But then it occurred to me that I could still use a preferment and make a poolish. While it wouldn’t have the sourness of a levain, it would contain at least some organic acids that would not only add to the flavor profile, but also add some natural preservative. Then it further occurred to me that if I made the poolish from rye flour, I’d add yet another dimension to both the flavor and textural profiles! The result was magnificent, as you can see in the picture above. Here are numbers…
Overall Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
76.00%
Salt
1.50%
Yeast
1.00%
Roasted Garlic
6.00%
Poolish
Preferment % of total flour
50%
Preferment Hydration
100%
Flour
301g
Water
301g
Yeast @ 0.33%
1g
Final Dough
Bread Flour
821g
Water (90-100°F)
558g
Salt
16g
Yeast
11g
Roasted Garlic
66g
Preferment
547g
Total Yield
2020g 2 X 1000 loaves
Extra Ingredients
Normally, I’d include the whole garlic cloves, cheese, and rosemary in the overall formula and the final dough. But I’ve found that developing the dough first, then including the cheese and garlic when I’m shaping gives me much better results.
Raw, Whole Garlic Cloves
200-250g
Parmesan Grana Padano Cheese
400g
Fresh Rosemary (finely chopped)
10-15g
Make the poolish. The night before you bake, make the poolish. Since it’s going to ferment overnight, there’s no need to use warm water. Just use regular tap water or room temp water. Because you’re using rye flour, you won’t get many surface bubbles, if any at all. But you will get lots of expansion by morning. And don’t worry if the poolish has peaked and subsided a bit.
Roast the garlic. Place the garlic in either an oven-safe container or some foil. Drizzle with a little olive oil to coat the cloves, then wrap them so all cloves are covered. Roast for 30-45 minutes at 375℉/250℃ until the cloves are mashable with a fork. Mash the cloves well, then set aside and allow to cool.
Mix.
In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients together, along with the yeast and poolish. Mix well to break up and dissolve the poolish and set aside.
Thoroughly combine the flour and salt in your main mixing bowl.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mix, then start to slowly combine. As the dough starts forming, add the mashed garlic.
Mix the dough until smooth and no dry ingredients remain.
While you can certainly hand-mix the ingredients, I like to use a mixer for this dough. It’s more efficient.
Bulk Fermentation. You want this dough to double in volume. This could take anywhere from 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
Folding. Fold the dough once within the first 45 minutes. But make sure you fold it to the point where the dough no longer wants to be folded. Once you’ve finished folding, turn the dough over onto the seams.
Divide and preshape. Once the dough has fully fermented, turn it out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two 1000g pieces (yes, I scale out the portions), then form the pieces into nice rounds. Bench rest the rounds for at least 15 minutes to allow the dough to relax.
Shape.
Work a round into a rough rectangle as shown below.
Next, spread half the garlic cloves, parmesan cheese, and rosemary evenly over the surface of the dough.
Next, fold over the ends of the rectangle.
Starting at the “top” of the rectangle, start rolling the dough into a cylinder. Try to make the rolls as tight as possible without tearing the dough.
Once you’ve finished rolling up the cylinder, pinch the cylinder closed, then roll cylinder onto the seam.
Now, with a sharp knife, cut the cylinder in half length-wise, and form a “V” with the two halves.
Carefully, twist the two halves together.
Pick up the twisted mass from the ends, then place it into a well-oiled 9″ X 5″ X 3″ pan.
Bake. Drizzle olive oil over the top of each loaf, and bake at 375℉/250℃ for 45-50 minutes. It may seem that this is a low temp to bake at, but you want to roast the garlic slowly, plus you don’t want to completely liquify the cheese, which will happen at a higher temp. Bake the loaves until the internal temperature reaches 205-210℉.
Remove from the oven, turn the oven off, then separate the loaves from the pans. Put the loaves onto a baking sheet, then return them to the oven and let them cure for 15-20 minutes to help solidify the crust.
As much as I love baking with KamutTM, my normal supplier has been out of it for some months now. But what they have had in stock is dark rye flour. So for the past few months I’ve been experimenting with it and trying to find a good ratio. Like KamutTM, rye flour doesn’t form gluten. They’re both high in protein, but their proteins are more gelatinous in the presence of water as opposed to forming chains. Needless to say, they don’t add to the structure of the dough.
While you certainly could do a 100% rye or KamutTM loaf, you’d have to keep the hydration pretty low or bake your bread in a pan. As for myself, while I’ve made bread using 100% rye or KamutTM, I have to admit I’m not a fan. But I love what they contribute to the bread when used in a flour blend.
For this recipe, the final blend is a 75% bread flour / 25% rye flour blend. 15% of the flour comes from the rye-based starter. The other 10% blended with the bread flour for the final dough.
Here’s the recipe:
Overall Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
76.00%
Salt
1.50%
Total %
177.50%
Flour Blend
Rye Flour from Preferment
15.00%
Bread Flour
75.00%
Rye Flour
10.00%
Total %
100.00%
Final Dough
Bread Flour
854g
Rye Flour
114g
Warm Water
694g
Salt
17g
Levain
341g
Total Yield
2020g 2 X 1000g loaves
Total Flour
1138g
Total Water
865g
Optimal Dough Temp
78°-82°F / 25° -27°C
Prepare the Levain. Make a levain that will yield about 350g or a bit more from a mature starter and equal parts of rye flour and water. The mother culture I use for this is 100% rye flour, but if yours isn’t, don’t sweat it. Once the levain passes the float test, it’s ready.
Initial Mix. In a separate bowl, mix the levain with all the water and make sure to break up the levain. The water should be very warm to increase the yeast activity. Blend the bread and rye flour together well, then add the liquid to it. You can mix by hand, but I use a mixer on the lowest setting. Mix until you achieve a shaggy mass and there are no dry ingredients. You don’t want much gluten development at this point. Cover and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes to ensure the flour is well-hydrated.
Final Mix. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough, then fold it into the dough. I do this with a wet hand, scrunching the dough together, then folding it. I do this until I can’t feel salt granules. This also serves as a bit of a stretch and fold session.
Bulk Fermentation. I’m not going to give a time for this as it varies wildly. But the telltale you’ll look for is 75-100% volume expansion – almost double. With the amount and type of starter I use (it’s from an ancient Italian culture that I got from Sourdoughs International), my bulk fermentation is about 2 1/4 hours! It’s fast. Make sure your dough temp is within the optimal range I listed above!
Folding. Fold once after the first hour of bulk fermentation. I realize this seems counterintuitive, especially if you’ve followed the dogma of 6 folds over a 3-hour period. But we’re baking with rye flour and even though it represents only 25% of the total flour, it’s still delicate. So don’t want to keep punching it down. When you fold, make sure you’re getting a really good stretch from the dough and fold it until the mass no longer wants to be folded and the whole mass comes up when you stretch. When you’re done, turn the mass onto the folds and LET IT SIT!
Divide and Shape. Gently transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface. Divide it into two equal piece weighing a kilo each. Shape into rounds and bench rest for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough has relaxed. Finally, shape them into rounds or ovals, then place them in bannetons.
Final Fermentation. Pop your bannetons into your fridge and let the dough ferment for 12 – 18 hours. I went up to 24 hours with my previous batch as an experiment, and though flavorful, there wasn’t much energy left in the yeast for oven spring.
Bake. Bake at 460°F/240°C for 15 minutes with steam. After this, remove your steaming container, then turn your oven down to 425°F/220°C and bake for 25 minutes. You can go longer if you want a darker crust.
As I’ve mentioned many times in previous posts, the bread I love to bake the most is the baguette. The reason is that what makes a great baguette boils down to technique. Whether you use yeast or a starter to raise the dough, the dough itself is simple and straightforward. But the dough development and shaping techniques – for lack of a better word – are unforgiving. And on top of that, I’ve found that making baguettes requires using quite a bit of intuition and feel, much more than other types of bread I bake.
With more standard loaves like rounds and ovals, I tend to focus on building dough strength during fermentation. As long as I do that, shaping is pretty easy. Baguettes, on the other hand, are a different animal altogether. Dough strength is important, but timing and observing certain telltales with the dough are critical to getting a good result. And when using a sourdough starter, the process is a little slower than with commercial yeast, so the telltales are important. I’ll discuss those below.
As for these particular baguettes, the rye flour adds incredible flavors that really enhance the taste of the bread. You get the rye grain flavor as about 12-15% of the total flour comes from the rye. But I’ve also found that a rye starter creates a nice sour tang. It’s not really strong, but it’s noticeable.
And at least in the case of my mother starter, the yeast absolutely loves rye flour. In fact, if I add my mother starter cold from fridge into the rye flour and water mix, it will peak in less than 3 hours! I don’t know what that may be due to, but there must be something in the rye that makes my yeast go wild!
Overall Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
76.00%
Salt
2.00%
Levain
30%
Levain
Rye Flour
125g
Water @ about 100℉
125g
Mature Starter
50g
Final Dough
Bread Flour
418g
AP Flour
228g
Water @ about 95-100℉ to get a 78-82℉ dough temp
464g
Salt
15g
Levain (30% of total flour)
228g
Total Yield
4 X 40cm-335g loaves
Initial Mix. Reserve 50g of the water. We’re going to do a Tartine-style autolyse by combining the flour, levain and water. Mix well and make sure all dry ingredients are incorporated with no large lumps. Personally, I do the initial mix with a mixer with the dough hook. Let rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes. We don’t want fermentation to really get going.
Incorporate the salt. Dissolve the salt into the reserved water, then mix it into the dough. You can use a mixer for this, but salt will tighten up the dough and it will quickly climb up the hook. So I just mix the salt in by hand. If you do it this way, wet your hand often. Transfer dough to another container to do your bulk fermentation (I use a 6L Cambro).
Bulk Fermentation. No time on this. You’re looking for a 30%-50% rise from the original dough mass. Using my active starter, this usually takes about 2 – 2 1/2 hours total with a dough temp of 80℉.
Folding. This only needs two folds within the first hour and a half. In each session, stretch and fold until you can pick up the entire mass. After the second fold, just let the dough ferment until you achieve 30-50% rise from the dough.
Telltale: Before you start folding, check the dough. You want to get good extensibility out of the dough. It should stretch very well but not tear. By the time bulk fermentation is complete. your dough should feel velvety smooth and luxurious.
Divide and Pre-Shape. Divide the dough into 335g pieces. You can refer to my baguette dough development process. Let rest for 20 minutes or until the dough as relaxed.
Shape. Roll pieces into logs, then transfer each to a well-floured couche.
Final Fermentation. Especially with sourdough baguettes, it is critical to leave them alone once you start final fermentation. You want the shaped dough to expand to almost double in volume or until the indentation of the poke test comes back very slowly. You’re taking the dough out to almost full fermentation.
Bake. Bake a 475℉ for 12 minutes with steam, then 425℉ for 12-15 minute or until the crust is the desired color. I prefer a slightly darker crust without getting too crunchy.
During the pandemic lockdown, I discovered just how wonderful KamutTM flour was. But now, for some reason, it has become a little scarce. So I started searching for different kinds of flour to replace the Kamut, and I discovered dark rye flour. Yeah, yeah, there are lots of folks who’ve been baking with rye for a long time, but truth be told, I kind of stayed away from it because of that traditional rye bread taste. Little did I know that that particular bitter, almost nutmeg-like taste comes from the caraway seed that’s often added to traditional rye bread dough.
Plus, up until I started baking with it, my primary experience with rye bread was that marbled rye that you get with Reuben sandwiches. But after doing a bit of research on rye flour and baking with it regularly, I was soon corrected, and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE baking with rye flour!
Part of the reason why I love it so much is that it behaves very much like Kamut flour in that doesn’t form gluten. Like Kamut, the proteins that are formed when water is added to the flour don’t at all contribute to the structure of the dough. So you either have to be super, super-gentle with the dough, or use a smaller percentage, just as I’m using with these baguettes.
But even at this lower percentage of 25% (technically 12.5% rye flour to the total flour), the flavor that the rye flour contributes is incredible. Plus, being whole-grain flour, it contributes a nice textural element that contrasts nicely with the white flour.
Overall Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
75.00%
Salt
2.00%
Yeast
0.57%
Poolish
My advice is to make the poolish the night before you mix the dough, giving it at least 10-12 hours to ferment. Whole-grain flour has lots of great bacteria that will produce organic acids that will add to the overall flavor profile of the bread.
Sometimes I just want some basic bread; something I don’t have to work too hard at. But by the same token, I don’t want to make just plain, white bread because that’s just boring. As I wrote in a previous article, there are lots of ways to make bread more flavorful. But my primary way of accomplishing that is to use various blends of flour.
In this case, I’m using a blend of 50% Fine-ground whole grain semolina and 50% bread flour. The bread flour I’m using is Bob’s Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour. This is a wonderful flour that has a nice, high protein content of 13.7%. This is one of my favorite flours to use in conjunction with whole-grain flour as the higher protein content ensures that I can build plenty of structure in the dough. The semolina flour adds sweetness and corn-like flavor and a gorgeous, natural yellow color to the crumb that looks like an egg was added to the dough.
The best thing about this bread is that it is absolutely straightforward and easy to make! So without further ado, let’s get into the recipe.
Formula
Flour (50% Fine-Ground Semolina, 50% Bread Flour)
100.00%
Water
80.00%
Salt
2.00%
Yeast
1.00%
Final Dough
The following recipe will make 2 1-kilo loaves:
Bread Flour
552g
Fine-ground, Whole-grain Semolina Flour
552g
Water
883g
Salt
22g
Yeast
11g
Total Yield
2020g
Note: The recipe makes 1% more than the 2 kilos to account for possible loss during processing.
If you really want to make things easy on yourself, do your mixing in a mixer, especially if you opt to use a delayed fermentation.
Mix. Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well enough so there’s even distribution. Add all the water and mix until smooth with moderate gluten development.
(optional) This recipe really lends itself to delayed fermentation. If you want to do that, use ice water to mix your dough. As recommended above, use a mixer and mix at medium-low for a few minutes to get gluten development started. Once the dough starts climbing up your hook, you will have mixed and kneaded it enough. Then put the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The rest of the process is the same as below once you remove the dough from the fridge.
Bulk Fermentation. How long bulk fermentation will take depends on the ambient temperature of your kitchen. But it should generally take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. However, if you delayed fermentation, count on at least a few hours to allow the yeast to wake up. The dough will have finished bulk fermenting when it has expanded almost 35-40% of its original size.
Folding. You only need to fold this dough once, 30 minutes after mixing. If you did a delayed fermentation, there’s no need to fold.
Divide and Shape. Divide the dough into two 1-kilo pieces. Shape the loaves as you would batards, but roll them out into logs. I use 14″ bannetons for proofing but you could also just proof the loaves on a well-floured couche. Alternatively, you could just place the loaves on a large baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper. You’ll both proof and bake on the sheet.
Final Fermentation. As with bulk fermentation, final fermentation will vary based on the ambient temp of your kitchen. The loaves will be ready when they pass the poke test.
Bake. Bake at 425°F with steam for 20 minutes. Remove the steaming container after 20 minutes then bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes to cure the loaves and reduce moisture in the crumb.
Because semolina is whole-grain flour, don’t expect large holes to form. But that’s okay. Your loaves will spring and have a wonderfully soft crumb!
When I first started making baguettes, I learned the pointage en bac method of making my baguette dough. To date, this is my most-used method for making baguettes. The slow rise significantly slows the yeast activity and allows the amylase enzymes to break down the starches in the flour and release more sugars into the dough than can be processed by the yeast that would otherwise be converted to alcohol and CO2. Plus it allows the lactobacillus and acetobacillus bacteria to release organic acids into the dough as well. With that method, I start with a dough temperature that is about 76℉-78℉, so when I finally put the dough into the fridge, fermentation has already started then gradually slows as the dough temp equalizes with the fridge temp.
But there is a bread called pain à l’ancienne whose fermentation is retarded at mixing using ice-cold water. Once mixed, the dough is then put into the fridge overnight. The dough is then removed from the fridge in the morning and allowed to come to room temp; thus, delaying fermentation and benefitting from the other microbes not having to compete with the yeast. But the two techniques differ in that with the pointage en bac method, the dough is immediately shaped out of the fridge as opposed to the pain à l’ancienne that is allowed to wake up for a period of time before shaping.
It actually makes a bit of sense to allow the dough to wake up because fermentation was delayed from the start. The cool thing is that when fermentation is allowed to proceed in earnest, the yeast have plenty of sugars on which to feed since the amylase enzymes had time to break down the starches overnight. Plus, the organic acids released into the dough will make it much more extensible. All good!
I did a riff on the pain à l’ancienne technique with my latest batch of baguettes and they turned out fabulous!
Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
76.00%
Salt
2.00%
Yeast (instant)
0.38%
Total %
178.38%
Final Dough
Kamut Flour (sifted)
190g
AP Flour
569g
Water (35℉ – 40℉)
577g
Salt
15g
Yeast
3g
1353g 4 X ~335g loaves
As you can see above, I used a blend of sifted Kamut and AP flour. This is a 25% Kamut/75% AP blend.
Mix. Thoroughly mix ALL dry ingredients together until fully combined. For the ice water, I just filled a bowl with ice water then used a strainer when adding it to the dry ingredients. Mix until you have a shaggy mass with no large lumps. Cover the mixing bowl, then place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to maintain the dough temp. After 30 minutes, take the bowl out, then stretch and fold the dough until smooth.
Retard. Return the dough to the fridge and let it sit for at least 8 hours. There will be yeast activity during this time, but it will minimal.
Bulk Fermentation. Remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to wake up for 1-1 1/2 hr. During this time you still won’t see much expansion of the dough mass, but that’s okay. There’s actually a lot that has happened overnight. All in all, you should see about a 50% expansion of the dough from its original size.
Divide and Preshape. Divide the dough into 335g pieces. Letterfold each piece, then roll up the piece perpendicular to the seams like a jelly roll. Alternatively, you can create rounds. After preshaping, place the piece on a well-floured couche and let the pieces rest for 30 minutes. This is an important step because the dough is still cool at this point and needs time to relax. After that time, if you pick up a piece, it should feel billowy and the dough should give.
Shape. Rather than write down the process, here’s a GREAT shaping method that Martin goes into in detail.
Final Fermentation. This last part is a little tricky in that it really require a bit of feel. But because the dough started out cold, the minimum final fermentation would probably be one hour. But when I baked these today, my kitchen was 72℉ and it took a little over two hours to finish final fermentation. Use the poke test to determine readiness. With this dough, the indentation should remain, but still eventually fill in. If your poke disappears completely, the dough isn’t ready. It’s really critical that you give final fermentation plenty of time as shaping will have degassed the dough slightly. Final fermentation will allow the holes to reform.
Bake. Bake at 475℉ with steam for 12 minutes or until the crust is set and you start seeing color. Remove steam, then finish baking at 425℉ for 15-20 minutes. This bread really benefits from a full bake.
If you’re wondering what the difference between this type of baguette is and a standard baguette, look at the pictures below:
Pain à l’ancienne techniqueBaguettes de Tradition
On the left are the baguettes made using the pain à l’ancienne technique and to the right are a recent batch of Baguettes de Tradition. They were both baked in pretty much the same way, at the same temperatures. But notice how the pain à l’ancienne style baguettes are darker. This is because of the carmelization of the sugars that were released into the dough overnight. Baguettes de Tradition, on the other hand, are processed all within a few hours time; not enough time for sugars to be released.
Ever since I learned Jeffrey Hamelman’s Roasted Garlic Levain bread, I’ve used roasted garlic in a number of recipes. But up until now, I didn’t think about using it in ciabatta. There is nothing like the smell of garlic roasting in the oven, and when incorporated into the dough and baked, the result is a luxurious and delectable bread that you’ll want to make all the time!
Since I go on long airplane trips several times a year, I’ve learned to bring my own food as opposed to buying the crappy food they now serve – and you have to purchase – on the plane. Tomorrow, my family is traveling to New York City to attend our daughter’s graduation from Fordham University this weekend, so true to form, I made sure to have sandwiches for the trip.
Normally, I make fat baguettes, but this time I wanted to make ciabatta. But to put a twist on it, I thought I’d add roasted garlic and give the bread a little kick. The formula and recipe are below:
Formula
Flour
100.00%
Water
81.00%
Cream
0.80%
Salt
2.00%
Yeast
1.00%
Olive Oil
4.00%
Garlic
6.00%
Total Percentage
194.80%
Final Dough
Flour My blend: 30% Kamut Flour, 30% Bread Flour, 40% AP Flour
622g
Warm Water (about 100°F)
504g
Cream or Half & Half
5g
Salt
12g
Yeast
6g
Olive Oil
25g
Garlic (peeled)
37g
Total Yield
1,212.00 2 X 600g loaves (+1% due to process loss)
Process
Because this is such a super-wet dough, I highly recommend using a stand mixer.
Roast the garlic. Weigh out the garlic you need then place the cloves in a square of foil with a little olive oil (don’t worry if you have too much garlic – personally, I usually exceed the required amount by a few grams). Cinch up the foil, the roast at 400°F for 30 minutes. The garlic should be slightly brown and mashable. Transfer to a small bowl, and mash up the garlic with the oil. Don’t worry if there are harder bits. Just break them up.
Mix. If you’re using a flour blend, thoroughly mix the different flour types together first (the mixer paddle is perfect for this). Add the salt and yeast, then continue mixing for several seconds until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
By the way, it’s a myth that salt kills yeast. It doesn’t, at least not at this low concentration, and especially if both are dry. Besides, if salt did kill yeast, once you add salt to a yeasted dough, it shouldn’t rise!
In a separate container, combine all the liquids. Attach the dough hook, then turn on your mixer to slow, then slowly add about 75% of the liquid. Allow the dough to form. Once the dough starts climbing up the hook, slowly add the rest of the liquid until all the ingredients are combined (make sure to use a spatula to get all the oil out of the container). Once the liquid is incorporated, add the roasted garlic. Turn the mixer up to medium-low and mix until the dough is smooth (it’s more like a batter at this stage).
At this stage, you can transfer the dough to a standard mixing bowl or just keep it in the mixer’s bowl.
First Fermentation. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then using a wet hand, do a series of stretches and folds. The dough at this point will still be quite wet. But using hand like a spoon, scoop under the dough and pull up. Eventually you will feel the dough strengthening a bit.
Second Fermentation. Again, let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then pour it out onto a well-floured surface. You have to be pretty generous with the flour. Letter fold the dough. Once you’ve finished the pattern, pat the dough down, then letter fold it again. Once you’re done, roll it over onto its seams, then transfer it into a well-oiled bowl.
I’d start preheating my oven at this point – my oven is slow to come to temp, so I start preheating after the first fermentation.
Third Fermentation. Finally, let the dough rest 20 minutes. You should see some expansion of the dough mass with bubbles starting to form on the surface. Pour the dough out oil-side-up onto a well-floured surface. Divide the dough into two pieces. Personally, I eyeball it, but still scale out one of the pieces to 600 grams. At this point, handle the dough gently. You don’t want to degas it too much!
Final Fermentation. Gently tug the two pieces into rectangles, then transfer them to a couche or well-floured dish cloth. Let the loaves rest for 20 minutes.
Bake. Transfer the loaves to a loading board generously covered with cornmeal. Load your oven, then bake the loaves at 460°F with steam for 15 minutes. After that, expel the steam, then finish baking at 400°F for 20 minutes.
If you don’t use a baking stone, you can bake the ciabatta on a regular baking pan.
The Dawg House! 