ITALIAN BIGA
Makes about 2 1/3 cups
1/4 teaspoon (0.75 grams) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces or 60 grams) warm water
• 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons (7 ounces or 200 grams) water, preferably bottled spring water, at room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups (11.6 ounces or 330 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil, for the bowl
• 1. Stir the yeast into the warm water and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• 2. Stir the remaining water into the creamy yeast mixture, and then stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time. If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon for 3 to 4 minutes. If mixing with a stand mixer, beat with the paddle at the lowest speed for 2 minutes. If mixing with a food processor, mix just until a sticky dough forms.
• 3. Transfer the biga to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature for 6 to 24 hours, until the starter is triple its original volume but is still wet and sticky. (The bakers I admire most advise 10 to 11 hours for the first rise, but others are very happy with the 24 hours it takes for dough to truly become yesterday’s dough, and if you like sour bread, allow your biga to rest for 24 to 48 hours or even 72 hours.)
• 4. Cover and refrigerate or freeze the biga until ready to use. (If refrigerating the biga, use within 5 days. If freezing the biga, let it rest at room temperature for about 3 hours until it is bubbly and active again.) When needed, scoop out the desired amount of biga for your recipe and proceed. I strongly recommend weighing the biga rather than measuring it by volume since it expands at room temperature. If measuring by volume, measure chilled biga; if measuring by weight, the biga may be chilled or at room temperature.
Italian Altamura Semolina Bread
Makes: 1 small loaf
Sponge:
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup Water
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon stone ground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
Final Dough:
• 1/2 cup Sponge (from above) *
• 1 2/3 cups Semolina flour
• 3/4 teaspoon Sea salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Water
* Usually, a sponge is created and then used up. However, this bread has leftover sponge. You have a couple of options for dealing with the extra sponge: 1) use all of the sponge and add more flour, if necessary, to compensate. Or, 2) turn your sponge into a leaven by refreshing it with flour and water (but no yeast). Gradually, it will become a leaven or “wild yeast” starter.
To refresh it, add 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour, 6 1/2 tablespoons whole wheat flour and a scant 1/2 cup water and mix thoroughly. You would then use this as a levain (starter) and it could replace the sponge next time you make this bread. You’ll need to let the dough rise a bit longer, but the flavor and texture should be the same.
Making the Sponge
To make the sponge, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the flours and mix to a soft sponge. There is no need to mix it vigorously. It will ferment for a long time so the naturally occurring enzymes and acids will develop the gluten.
Put the sponge in a bowl with plenty of room for expansion (up to 3 times its volume) and cover with a lid or plastic bag to conserve moisture. Let it ferment at room temperature for 16-48 hours. During this time the sponge will rise up and collapse. The yeast cells will multiply and the acids will begin to develop.
I marked it with the date and time so I could remember how long to let it rest on the counter. I made the sponge on Sunday, then made the dough and baked it on Tuesday.
Here is the dough after resting on the counter for 2 days. You can see how it has risen then fallen.
Making the Dough
Add the semolina, salt, and water at a temperature that will finish the dough at about 81 degrees F.
Knead it well until the dough is silky and stretchy. If it’s hard to stretch and seems to tear easily, add some more water. It takes semolina a little while to absorb its full complement of water because the granules are bigger than flour. Be prepared to adjust the dough while you are kneading.
I didn’t have to add more water, but I did add some more flour because the dough was just too wet. There, now I can stretch it without it tearing or sticking to the counter too much.
Put the dough in a bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for1-2 hours. This is the dough after rising on the counter for 1 1/2 hours.
Mold into an oval loaf that is slightly tapered at the ends, the shape of a rather fat football. Dip the loaf into a bowl of semolina flour so that the whole thing is covered. The semolina coating gives a wonderful crunch and nutty flavor to the crust. If the dough is too dry for the semolina to stick to it, wet it and try again. I just rolled it in the semolina on the counter to cover it.
Dust a lined baking sheet with semolina flour and place the molded loaf on it. I put my loaf on a parchment-lined peel dusted with semolina flour so I could slide it off onto the hot baking stone. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap.
Allow plenty of time for a full proof so the bread will expand.
When the loaf is well risen, take a sharp blade (I used a serrated bread knife) and make 2 cuts, from point to point, about 3/8 inch apart at their widest and following the “contours” of the loaf.
Slide the loaf onto a baking stone that has been preheated with the oven as hot as possible — 450 to 470 degrees F.
Close the door as quickly as possible and bake the loaf for about 30 minutes, reducing the oven temperature by 60 to 70 degrees after 10 minutes or so. I preheated my oven to 475 degrees F. and baked the loaf for ten minutes at that temperature, then lowered it to 425 degrees F to finish baking.
The finished loaf should have a golden brown crust that is quite hard immediately after baking.
The 2 cuts should have helped the inside of the dough to expand and push up a little through the crust. There should be a pleasing contrast between the cuts and the semolina-dusted crust. Allow the bread to cool before slicing or serving.
Makes about 2 1/3 cups
1/4 teaspoon (0.75 grams) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces or 60 grams) warm water
• 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons (7 ounces or 200 grams) water, preferably bottled spring water, at room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups (11.6 ounces or 330 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil, for the bowl
• 1. Stir the yeast into the warm water and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• 2. Stir the remaining water into the creamy yeast mixture, and then stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time. If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon for 3 to 4 minutes. If mixing with a stand mixer, beat with the paddle at the lowest speed for 2 minutes. If mixing with a food processor, mix just until a sticky dough forms.
• 3. Transfer the biga to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature for 6 to 24 hours, until the starter is triple its original volume but is still wet and sticky. (The bakers I admire most advise 10 to 11 hours for the first rise, but others are very happy with the 24 hours it takes for dough to truly become yesterday’s dough, and if you like sour bread, allow your biga to rest for 24 to 48 hours or even 72 hours.)
• 4. Cover and refrigerate or freeze the biga until ready to use. (If refrigerating the biga, use within 5 days. If freezing the biga, let it rest at room temperature for about 3 hours until it is bubbly and active again.) When needed, scoop out the desired amount of biga for your recipe and proceed. I strongly recommend weighing the biga rather than measuring it by volume since it expands at room temperature. If measuring by volume, measure chilled biga; if measuring by weight, the biga may be chilled or at room temperature.
Italian Altamura Semolina Bread
Makes: 1 small loaf
Sponge:
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup Water
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon stone ground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
Final Dough:
• 1/2 cup Sponge (from above) *
• 1 2/3 cups Semolina flour
• 3/4 teaspoon Sea salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Water
* Usually, a sponge is created and then used up. However, this bread has leftover sponge. You have a couple of options for dealing with the extra sponge: 1) use all of the sponge and add more flour, if necessary, to compensate. Or, 2) turn your sponge into a leaven by refreshing it with flour and water (but no yeast). Gradually, it will become a leaven or “wild yeast” starter.
To refresh it, add 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour, 6 1/2 tablespoons whole wheat flour and a scant 1/2 cup water and mix thoroughly. You would then use this as a levain (starter) and it could replace the sponge next time you make this bread. You’ll need to let the dough rise a bit longer, but the flavor and texture should be the same.
Making the Sponge
To make the sponge, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the flours and mix to a soft sponge. There is no need to mix it vigorously. It will ferment for a long time so the naturally occurring enzymes and acids will develop the gluten.
Put the sponge in a bowl with plenty of room for expansion (up to 3 times its volume) and cover with a lid or plastic bag to conserve moisture. Let it ferment at room temperature for 16-48 hours. During this time the sponge will rise up and collapse. The yeast cells will multiply and the acids will begin to develop.
I marked it with the date and time so I could remember how long to let it rest on the counter. I made the sponge on Sunday, then made the dough and baked it on Tuesday.
Here is the dough after resting on the counter for 2 days. You can see how it has risen then fallen.
Making the Dough
Add the semolina, salt, and water at a temperature that will finish the dough at about 81 degrees F.
Knead it well until the dough is silky and stretchy. If it’s hard to stretch and seems to tear easily, add some more water. It takes semolina a little while to absorb its full complement of water because the granules are bigger than flour. Be prepared to adjust the dough while you are kneading.
I didn’t have to add more water, but I did add some more flour because the dough was just too wet. There, now I can stretch it without it tearing or sticking to the counter too much.
Put the dough in a bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for1-2 hours. This is the dough after rising on the counter for 1 1/2 hours.
Mold into an oval loaf that is slightly tapered at the ends, the shape of a rather fat football. Dip the loaf into a bowl of semolina flour so that the whole thing is covered. The semolina coating gives a wonderful crunch and nutty flavor to the crust. If the dough is too dry for the semolina to stick to it, wet it and try again. I just rolled it in the semolina on the counter to cover it.
Dust a lined baking sheet with semolina flour and place the molded loaf on it. I put my loaf on a parchment-lined peel dusted with semolina flour so I could slide it off onto the hot baking stone. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap.
Allow plenty of time for a full proof so the bread will expand.
When the loaf is well risen, take a sharp blade (I used a serrated bread knife) and make 2 cuts, from point to point, about 3/8 inch apart at their widest and following the “contours” of the loaf.
Slide the loaf onto a baking stone that has been preheated with the oven as hot as possible — 450 to 470 degrees F.
Close the door as quickly as possible and bake the loaf for about 30 minutes, reducing the oven temperature by 60 to 70 degrees after 10 minutes or so. I preheated my oven to 475 degrees F. and baked the loaf for ten minutes at that temperature, then lowered it to 425 degrees F to finish baking.
The finished loaf should have a golden brown crust that is quite hard immediately after baking.
The 2 cuts should have helped the inside of the dough to expand and push up a little through the crust. There should be a pleasing contrast between the cuts and the semolina-dusted crust. Allow the bread to cool before slicing or serving.
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