Rustic Italian Bread

RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD

Makes 2 large 2 pound loaves

preferment
1 cup water
1 cup bread or all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:
All of the preferment
5 cups bread or all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 tablespoon malt syrup, malt powder, brown sugar, or sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups water

To start the preferment, mix together the flour, water, and yeast in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temperature for at least 4 hours and as long as 16 hours.

To make the dough, mix together the preferment, water, olive oil, yeast, salt, malt powder, and dry milk in a bowl with 2 more cups of flour. Mix thoroughly. Mix or knead in the rest of the flour a half a cup as a time until you have a slack dough but one that is no longer sticky. Total mixing time should be in the ballpark of 10 to 15 minutes.

Place the dough in a well-greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature until at least 2 times in size, approximately 2 hours. Punch the dough down and let it rise again for half an hour.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Shape the dough into a ball or log, cover with a damp towel, and allow it to relax for another 20 minutes.

Shape the dough into its final shape. Cover again and allow to rise for another hour until doubled in bulk.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven and baking stone, if you are using one, to 425 degrees.

Right before placing the loaves in the oven brush or spray them lightly with water. Place them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes before rotating them. Bake them another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the loaf reads 200 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least a half an hour before serving. (from "The Fresh Loaf")

Greek Bread

           Psomi Spitiko




Greek Bread is a very simple bread to make.  It is perfect for a last minute touch to a meal or for an evening snack because you can get it ready in 90 minutes.  Here's the plan:

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups of bread (or all-purpose) flour
• 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
• 1 packet (1/4 oz) of dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Dissolve yeast in the warm water.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, salt, oil, and yeast with water, and mix until thoroughly blended. Cover tightly (plastic wrap works well) and let sit for 30 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture and combine with hands to form a cohesive dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead in as much of the remaining flour as needed until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to hands.

Make the Loaves

Shape into two loaves, place on a nonstick cookie sheet, and place on the middle rack in a cold oven for 15 minutes.

Turn on oven to 425°F (220°C) and bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes or until golden.

Cool on a rack.

Notes:

• The loaves will rise while in the cold oven, and will rise further when baking, so allow adequate space between.
• To create a more crusty top, just before baking score the loaves 2-3 times diagonally across the top.