I have lost count of how many times the fellow I live with has told me “This is really good bread, good for sandwiches and soaking up gravy or soup.  You should bake this bread all the time.  This is the flavor of bread.”  I’ve really tried this month to keep my guy happy with this bread and baked it five times . . . Yes, it is really good bread . . . poor boy, after today there will be more of this bread but it will be different bread (from our very own BreadChick Babe Kitchen’s) . . . but that is getting way ahead.

Kitchen of the Month is

Sara of I Like to Cook

The bread is

Pane Francese

from the King Arthur website

Creating the Levain

chef (1/4 cup leftover dough, I used 100g of this pizza dough)

1/4 cup (70 ml) warm water ( I used potato water)

Using a bench scraper, cut the chef (left over dough) into the warm water and add the flour.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  Mix well.  The chef (now a levain will be stiff and moist).  This was too moist for me to knead, I just mixed it well with the wooden spoon.  Cover and allow to double in volume; mine took 3 hours to double.

Second-Stage Levain

All of the levain (from above)

1/2 cup (120ml) warm water ( I used potato water)

1 1/2 cups (206g)  King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Again use the bench scraper to cut the now levain into small pieces, then add the water and flour to make a stiff dough.  I just used the wooden spoon or wrapped the dough around my hand and then made it whap against the side of the bowl until all the flour was incorporated. 

Cover the bowl and allow to double in size.  The recipe says 3 to 5 hours, mine never took more than 3 hours and several times less.

Now the next part is where you have to read carefully.  From the risen levain remove 1/4 cup (I just dropped 100g on the scale covered with plastic wrap).  The recipe says to leave this chef out at room temperature for 3 hours - I missed that the first time around and then never did leave it out at all, just wrapped it in plastic and put it in a jar in the fridge.  It also said it would develop a hard crust (and that that would be ok), mine never did.

Note: in the next step you will use all the levain but the chef has been removed and is waiting for your next bake, it becomes the left-over dough to bake again.

Dough

all of the second-stage levain (from above)

3/4 cup (180ml) warm water ( I used potato water)

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups (260g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

2 to 3 tablespoons ground flax seed

I baked this bread using all bread flour then adding up to almost a cup of white whole wheat and the last time used regular whole wheat.  All of my bakings used more bread flour than whole grain.  Add as little extra flour as possible to knead the dough to smooth and satiny.  Cover and allow to rise 8 to 10 hours.  Unless I retarded the dough in the fridge, 6 hours was about as long as I could leave these without causing over rising.

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.

My last baking I used all the dough in my oval banneton for one large loaf.

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.

If you would like to be a Bread Baking Buddy: Cut off date to post is March 29. Please send Sara a link to your bread so she can include you in the round up and send you your badge - iliketocook AT shaw DOT ca.