Thursday, March 26, 2009

Bread Baking Buddies Pane Francese



The Bread Baking Babes went French this month or better Francese ! Sara chose this recipe on 'The Village Baker' by Joe Ortiz who got this recipe in Milano from a famous baker.
I'm working so hard in these days that I adapted the times a little bit but I'm very pleased with the results : thank you Sara !!
We used our sourdough starter as a chef to get this loaf going. A piece from the resulting dough is now tucked away in the refrigerator, ready to use when we bake this loaf again. We thank Joe Ortiz and his wonderful book, "The Village Baker" for the inspiration that created this recipe.

Creating the Levain
chef (1/4 cup leftover dough, or 1/4 cup sourdough starter, unfed)
1/4 cup warm, chlorine-free water
1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached Special Bread Flour

Let the chef soften in the warm water, then whisk out any lumps. Mix in the flour until yo8u've formed a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead it for 5 to 8 minutes. The chef (now called a levain) should be moist but firm. Place the levain in a bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm place till doubled. This will take 5 to 6 hours.

Second-Stage Levain
All of the levain (from above)
1/2 cup warm, chlorine-free water
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Special Bread Flour

"Refresh" the levain by placing it in a medium-sized bowl, chopping it into small pieces, and adding the water and 1/2 cup of the flour, stirring till smooth. Add the remaining flour gradually to create a stiff dough. Knead the dough for several minutes, then return it to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise for 3 to 5 hours, till it doubles in size. Punch down the risen levain, and reserve 1/4 cup as your next chef. (Let the piece ferment at room temperature for 3 hours, then wrap it in plastic and store it in the fridge. It'll develop a hard crust; that's OK.)

Dough
all of the second-stage levain (from above)
3/4 cup warm, chlorine-free water
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Special Bread Flour (I used hard wheat flour)

Chop the levain into small pieces, and mix them with the water, stirring till they begin to dissolve. Add the salt, then 1 1/2 cups of the flour. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured or lightly greased work surface, and knead until the dough is smooth and satiny, adding only enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking unbearably. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm place for 8 to 10 hours.

Shaping: Cut the dough into 2 pieces, and shape each piece into a round or oval. Transfer the loaves to a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, or to a floured banneton; cover with a heavily floured cloth, and allow them to rise for 2 to 3 hours, or until they're almost doubled in bulk.

Don't slash or glaze the loaves. Bake the bread in a preheated 450°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they're a deep, golden brown. Yield: 2 loaves.

17 comments:

NKP said...

Grande!
Great job on the Pane Francese, Natalia.
Congratulazioni!

Lucy..♥ said...

Ahhh the wonderful aroma of baking bread... just beautifully done!!

Gloria Baker said...

Natalia I really love this bread, look awesome, thanks is nice, Gloria

Engineer Baker said...

Beautiful! I loved this bread too - so tasty!

Dewi said...

My goodness Natalia, I love this type of bread. You did a fabulous job here. I like the crumbs, and look really delicious.
Cheers,
elra

Babs said...

ciao ntalia, che bel pane! mmmmmm fame.....
baci
barbara

Miette said...

Very great job, Natalia ! It sounds so tasty !!! Mmm....

Cheers,

Miette

The Blonde Duck said...

That bread looks amazing! Yum! You can't beat fresh bread!

Shari said...

I'm always impressed with people who make their own bread! Looks wonderful.

Sarah FragolaeLimone said...

Natalia, complimenti, è venuto benissimo!

Elyse said...

Wow, your bread looks totally fabulous. I'd love to tear off a hunk right now and eat it with some honey and butter for breakfast!! Once again, the bread baking gals have done an awesome job.

Cindystar said...

Ciao natalia, ma...non si doveva postare il 29?...non dirmi che ho sbagliato data io, che ho lì pronto da fare il post da due giorni!...
Mamma mia che testa che ho!
Complimenti per il tuo pane, il mio non è così bello, l'ho fatto mentre ero in montagna con un forno non mio e una farina che non conosco...comunque...è stato mangiato!...poi, facendo bruschette, tutto migliora!
bacio e buon weekend!

enza said...

ti risponde la cohost, si posta il 27 ma sccome la cohost italiana (e come ti sbagli) è in ritardo allora siete giustificate eheheheh

Sara said...

Thank you for baking with us this month! Your bread looks great.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

This is one my husband is still asking for.
Thanks for being a buddy this month (again) Natalia!

Lien said...

Great loaves Natalia! Thanks for baking with us!

Jude said...

The idea of saving a bit of dough for the next batch is fun stuff. So old school!