A Tuscan Herb Artisan Bread Food

A TUSCAN HERB ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the flour, instant yeast, and salt together.
• Add the water and spices.
• Mix by hand until the dough comes together.
• Let stand for 12 to 18 hours. We have done this over night, and of course, add a couple hours.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Once the dough had rested for 12 to 18 hours, place the dough onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Fold the dough into thirds one way, then thirds the other way.
• Let the dough stand for another 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven at 500°F with a covered Dutch Oven in the oven.
• Once both the oven and Dutch Oven are hot, carefully take the cover off the Dutch Oven and slide the rested dough into the Dutch Oven.
• Now is when you can lightly sprinkle a little of the herbs on top of the loaf, this is optional.
• Place the cover back on to the Dutch Oven and put into the hot oven.
• Bake for 25 minutes with the cover on, then, take the cover off and finish baking for another 5 minutes.
• After the 30 minutes, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven.
• Have a cooling rack ready to put your Bread on right after you take it out of the oven.
• Let the bread cool on the cooling rack for a few hours, after it has cooled, slice the loaf.
• Store in a air tight container.

HERB ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, yeast, Parmesan cheese, garlic and rosemary in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the water, stir until mixed well. Mix dough gently until it forms a rough ball.
• Transfer dough to a large clean, ungreased, mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until surface of dough is covered with tiny bubbles and the dough has more than doubled in size. For best results, let dough rise 18 - 24 hours.
• Before baking, place an empty Dutch oven, with its lid, into the oven and turn it on to 450 degrees. Allow it to heat in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove dough from bowl and place on a well-floured surface. Create a smooth ball by pulling corners of dough underneath until the surface is smooth. Place dough on a square of parchment paper big enough to cover bottom of the Dutch oven. Dust dough with flour, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest 10-15 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, Score the top of the loaf with an X. (Cut about ¼ inch deep and 2 ½ inches long for each side of X.) Lightly dampen your hands and carefully pat the top of the dough ball. (This will help your bread brown.)
• Carefully remove Dutch oven from the oven. Remove lid, then lift corners of parchment paper and lower dough into hot pan. Replace lid and return to the oven. Bake 30 minutes.
• Remove lid and bake additional 10 minutes or until the top is browned.
• Remove from oven and place bread on a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

TUSCAN HERB BREAD

Steps:

• Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Gently stir together with handheld whisk. Then, let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
• Using a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, salt, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and herbs.
• Turn the mixer onto medium low speed and slowly spoon in the flour mixture.
• Once dough starts to form increase to medium high.
• Continue to work the dough for 5 minutes or until a positive "Window Pane Test" (Pinch a piece of dough off and spread with finger tips holding up to the light. If the dough stretches without breaking and you can see through the center, gluten has formed and its ready to prove.
• Gently place the soft and sticky dough into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 4 days and up to 7 days for added tangy flavor. The dough will rise and fall while its chilling, and thats totally normal.
• Remove dough bowl from fridge. Press down any excess air with a slightly floured fist. Weigh and divide the dough equally into two balls. Use lightly floured hands to form each half into a round shape.
• Place each half onto a medium sized rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover each dough ball loosely with a lightly floured tea towel and allow to warm to room temperature.
• Dough will then need time to rise again, doubling in size. this could take 1-2 hours depending on temperature of room. The dough will spread more outwardly, looking puffier, rather than growing in height.
• Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
• Now that the dough has doubled again, carefully cut a few slits across the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with more herbs if desired.
• Place trays with dough side by side on middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove trays from the oven and place the loaves directly onto a wire rack to completely cool.
• Slice the loaves and serve with dipping oil, cheeses, or fruit spreads.

ALMOST-FAMOUS ROSEMARY BREAD

Steps:

• Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon (or with the dough hook if using a mixer) until a dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting lightly with flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Or knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding a little flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.)
• Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
• Brush 2 baking sheets with olive oil. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, then fold the top and bottom portions into the middle. Fold in the sides to make a free-form square. Use a spatula to turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting 2 balls on each baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the loaves 10 minutes; brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the kosher salt and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon rosemary. Continue baking until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with olive oil seasoned with pepper.

ITALIAN HERB BREAD I

Steps:

• Mix yeast, warm water, and white sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy.
• Stir olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cheese, and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the next three cups of flour. Dough will be stiff.
• Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and rubbery. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to cover the surface of the dough with oil. Cover with a damp linen dish towel. Allow to rise for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Punch dough down to release all the air. Shape into two loaves. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet, or into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about a 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Remove loaves from pan(s), and let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• BREAD MACHINE DIRECTIONS
• PLACE all ingredients except cornmeal and egg white in bread machine pan according to manufacturer's directions. Process on DOUGH setting.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. At end of dough cycle, remove dough from machine. Place on lightly floured surface. Punch down dough. (If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour before shaping.) Cover dough with clean cloth. Let rest for 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place loaf on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 20 to 25 minutes or until light and doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• CONVENTIONAL OVEN METHOD
• SPOON flour lightly into measuring cup. Level off. Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Mix well. Add warm water and oil. Mix well. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 30 to 40 minutes.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough. Cover dough with inverted bowl and allow to rest on counter 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place dough on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place 35 to 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• High Altitude (3500 ft.):
• No change.

ARTISAN ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• SPONGE STARTER (This makes enough for two recipe batches or 6 loaves): Mix all the sponge starter ingredients together using a KitchenAid with dough hook, on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until a somewhat elastic and very stiff batter has formed.
• Scrape the sponge into a plastic container and cover it with a see-thru lid (or plastic wrap). Let the sponge rest about 6 hours at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to collapse. The sponge will triple in volume and small dents and folds will begin to appear in the top as it reaches its peak and then begins to deflate. The sponge starter is now ready. NOTE: At this point you can refrigerate the starter and it can stay refrigerated for up to 1 month (just bring starter to room temperature before using).
• TO MAKE THE BREAD: Combine the warm water and yeast in your KitchenAid bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes.
• Add the cool water and 1/2 of the sponge starter to the yeast mixture and mix for about 1 minute, breaking up the sponge. The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy.
• Add the flour and salt and mix to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl until the dough gathers into a mass. It will be wet and sticky, with long strands of dough hanging from the dough hook. If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.
• Add a Tbsp or so of flour and knead for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes supple and fairly smooth. This is a sticky, wet dough; don't be tempted to add too much flour. Turn off the mixer, and using a large dish towel or plastic wrap, cover the bowl while still on the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes (autolypse stage).
• Remove plastic wrap and knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth yet still slightly sticky. Dump the dough onto the counter and shape it into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm dark place for 1 hour then transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 8 hours (up to 24 hrs) to let it relax, develop flavor, and become more manageable.
• Take the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until it begins to warm up and starts to rise.
• Flour a work surface well and gently dump the dough onto it. Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, gently flatten, pressing out some of the air bubbles, and stretch it into a rectangle(You can hold the dough up in the air and use the gravity to help form the rectangle). Fold the top third down and the bottom third up as if you were folding a business letter. Seal the seam with the heel of your palm, then repeat with the letter fold. (You want to gently draw the skin tight over the surface of the loaf while leaving some air bubbles in the dough or deflate its airy structure).
• Now form the loaf into a baguette by rolling the dough into a loaf shape. The loaves should now be about 10 inches long. Place loaf onto a sheet of parchment paper (cut to fit your stone) with enough room for the other two loaves.
• Make the other two loaves. The loaves will be soft and slightly irregular in shape. Leave space between the loaves as they will spread as they rise. Cover the loaves with well oiled plastic and let them rise for 2 hours.
• Place a baking stone in the oven on the 2nd rack from the bottom and preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Diagonally score each loaf in about 4 places about 1/8" deep, being careful not to deflate them too much. Carefully slide them with the parchment paper onto the baking stone in the oven.
• Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves and the sides of the oven with water (careful not to spray the light bulb), then quickly shut oven door. Mist the loaves again after 2 minutes, and again after another 2 minutes. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and the crust is a medium to dark brown. (If the crust is not brown enough, the loaves will soften as they cool). Transfer the bread to a rack to cool. Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

ROSEMARY ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• Mix yeast, warm water and sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy.
• Stir in olive oil, lemon, salt, rosemary, garlic, onion, cheese and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture.
• Gradually mix in next three cups of flour. (Dough will be stiff). Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
• Place in an oiled bowl, turning to cover sides with oil. Cover with a towel, or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled.
• Punch down to release all the air. Shape into a ball. Place in a greased ceramic stoneware, or into two 9x5 inch, greased pans.
• Allow to rise for 1/2 hour again, until doubled in a warm place.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 2 loaves, 30 minutes, for one loaf, 40 minutes.
• Remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes, before slicing.