Makes 2 loaves, about 1¼ pounds each Makes 2 loaves, about 1¼ pounds each
I’VE LEARNED MORE about the art of bread making from Ed Behr, the Vermont-based writer, editor, and general factotum of The Art of Eating, a quarterly newsletter, than from anyone in the Mediterranean or elsewhere. Ed seems to have a natural instinct, what my mother would have called “a good hand,” for bread. Here’s what he taught me:
When you think about it, those are pretty good life principles as well.
This is a very slow-rising bread. Three days may seem excessive, but the bread develops a wonderful flavor and texture, and the bonus is that there’s so little to do each day that you almost don’t even notice you’re making bread. Fifteen years ago I published this recipe in the New York Times. The editor of Food & Wine magazine called to say it was the best bread she’d ever baked.
2 cups very warm, almost hot, water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
9 to 11 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour
2 tablespoons sea salt
2½ cups tepid water
2 cups barley, rye, or whole-wheat flour
2 or 3 tablespoons cornmeal or coarse semolina, as needed
Put the very warm water in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over it, and stir briefly with a wooden spoon to distribute the yeast through the water. Add 2 cups of the white flour, stir to mix well, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a cool place (50 to 70 degrees) to rise overnight. (If you’re using starter, mix a cup of starter with warm water and flour, cover, and set aside to rise.)
The next day, if you wish, remove a cup of the starter sponge and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Add to the remaining sponge the salt, a cup of the tepid water, and the barley, rye, or whole-wheat flour. Stir or mix thoroughly with your hands. Cover the bowl again, return to a cool place, and let it rise overnight.
On the third day, add the remaining 1½ cups tepid water and about 7 cups white flour. Begin kneading in the bowl, then sprinkle a little flour over a wooden pastry board or wooden countertop and turn the dough out. Knead thoroughly for at least 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Rinse the mixing bowl, dry it, dust it with flour, and put the dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to rise until it has increased in volume about 2½ times—about 2 to 3 hours.
Turn the dough out on the lightly floured board, punch it down, and knead briefly just to knock any air holes out. Form into two round (boules) or long (baguettes) loaves and place the loaves on baking sheets (if you’re not using a baking stone) or on a wooden peel that has been lightly sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina. Set aside in a warm place (70 degrees or more) to rise rapidly, 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled in size.
If you’re using a baking stone, set it in the cold oven and preheat to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes. If you’re using a baking sheet and no stone, simply preheat the oven to 500 degrees. When you’re ready to bake, slash the tops of the loaves with a very sharp knife in three or four places. Quickly slide the loaves into the oven, directly onto the hot stone if you’re using it, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes longer.
When the bread is done and the crust is golden brown, remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack.
VARIATIONS:
To make Black Olive Bread: When you punch down the dough just before shaping the loaves, add ½ to 1 cup pitted black olives, well drained of any oil or brine, and a tablespoon of finely grated orange zest. Knead these ingredients into the dough before shaping the loaves. You may also find that you must add a little more flour to compensate for the juiciness of the olives.
To make Walnut Bread: When you punch down the dough just before shaping the loaves, add ½ to 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts to the dough. Knead the dough to distribute the walnuts throughout before shaping the loaves.
To make Barley Bread: Substitute 2 or 3 cups of barley flour for 2 or 3 cups of all-purpose flour in the recipe. In Morocco, where barley bread is a great favorite, it is often baked in 9-inch round bread pans, with a handful of barley grits scattered over the surface of the loaf just before it goes into the oven. Keep in mind that smaller shapes like these will bake more quickly than the hefty loaves described in the recipe.