Receta Pugliese Bread
This delicious, peasant bread is made with a very slack (wet) dough. The dough produces a pleasantly light, open texture with holes and has a complex flavor. A long fermentation enhances the breads flavor. This is a very tasty and delicious bread. I found this recipe at~
King Arthur Flour, a great source for all your baking needs. What is a biga? A biga is a type of pre-fermentation used in Italian baking. Many popular Italian breads, including Ciabatta, are made using a biga. Using a biga adds complexity to the bread's flavor and is often used in breads that need a light, open texture with holes. Apart from adding flavor and texture, a biga helps preserve bread by making it less perishable.
Biga~
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) water
- 1 1/4 cups (5 1/8 oz) King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 1/8 t instant yeast
- In a small mixing bowl combine the water, flour and yeast to form a soft dough. Don't knead it, just make sure all of the ingredients are well incorporate. Set this mixture aside in a warm place, covered, for 12-16 hours.
- Dough~
- all of the biga
- 1 12 cups (12 oz) water
- 4 cups (17 oz) King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 2 t salt
- 1 t instant yeast
Knead all of the dough ingredients together using a mixer or slap and fold technique until the dough is cohesive and elastic, (though not necessarily smooth) about 10 minutes. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours, gently stirring it down each hour. (The longer you let the dough rise at this point the better the flavor of the finished loaf will be)
Lightly grease a half-sheet pan or other flat pan. Scoop the very wet dough in two separate pieces onto the pan lengthwise, shaping each piece into a rough oval as best you can. Cover the dough with heavily greased plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for almost 90 minutes. It will spread quite a bit, but don't worry, it's supposed to.
Spray the loaves heavily with warm water and bake loaves in a preheated 450º F oven for 25-30 minutes or until they're a deep golden brown. Turn off the oven, prop the door open, transfer the loaves from the pan to the oven rack and allow them to cool in the turned off oven. Enjoy!
Kitchen Tip: Also called Peking Sauce, hoisin sauce is a thick, reddish-brown sauce that is both sweet and spicy and widely used in Chinese cooking. It is a mixture of soybeans, garlic, chili peppers and various spices. Hoisin sauce will keep indefinitely if refrigerated.