Dark Tuscan Bread Pane Toscano Scuro Food

TUSCAN BREAD {PANE TOSCANO}

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add flour and knead into a ball. Place in a bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and linen towel and let sit overnight.
• I like to do this step the night before I plan to bake the bread.
• The next morning the starter should have doubled or tripled in size.
• In a mixer bowl add starter, lukewarm water and flour. Using a dough hook attachment knead for about 10-15 minutes slowly increasing the speed.As a result you should get soft dough that easily comes together into a ball.
• Give the dough a round shape and place it in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.Let rise for 1-2 hours or until it has triple in size.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Dust it with a little more flour.Using your fingers pat the dough down into a rectangular.Fold upper edges inside, then roll the dough into a loaf starting from the top.
• Transfer the loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Score the loaf with a blade or a sharp knife and cover it with a linen towel to rise for the last time for about 30-40 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450F.
• Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400F and bake for another 25-30 minutes.
• Let the bread cool on a cooling rack.

DARK TUSCAN BREAD (PANE TOSCANO SCURO)

Steps:

• STARTER, stir the yeast into the water and let it stand for 10 minutes, until creamy.
• Add the flour and stir with 100 strokes of a wooden spoon, or w/ the paddle of an electric mixer for 1 minute (I recommend the latter unless your arms look like Popeyes).
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until tripled, 6 hours to overnight.
• DOUGH, stir yeast into the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes, until creamy.
• Add the room temp water and the starter.
• Stir vigorously or squeeze the mixture between your fingers to break the starter up.
• Stir in the flours, half at a time, until thoroughly mixed.
• Knead dough on floured work surface until firm and resilient, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and punch it, then shape it into a large round loaf, or 2 oval loaves.
• Place on cornmeal-sprinkled peel or an oiled baking sheet.
• Dust the top (s) lightly with flour, cover with a lightly dampened towel, and let rise until doubled again, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 450F.
• Score top of loaf (ves) with a sharp knife or razor in a"tic-tac-toe" pattern and slide onto a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Bake 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 400F& bake 20 minutes for the smaller loaves, and 25 to 30 minutes for the large loaf.
• Loaf is done when they sound hollow when tapped.
• Cool on a rack.

PAPPA AL POMODORO (TUSCAN BREAD SOUP)

Steps:

• In a medium pot over medium-high heat, add olive oil and crushed garlic.
• When the garlic flavors infuse oil, add the red pepper flakes being careful not to burn them.
• Add the whole can of tomatoes into the pot, then using a spatula cut the tomatoes into chunks.
• Add salt and ground black pepper, to taste.
• (Remember, bread chunks will be added to this so make it a bit saltier then you would like it to be.)
• Add water and stir.
• With your hands, pull the bread into bite-sized chunks, then add them to the pot.
• "Toss" (do not stir) bread chunks in to the soup.
• Add basil leaves.
• Serve hot and enjoy!

TUSCAN BREAD

Steps:

• Make the paste 1 or 2 days before making the bread. Pour the boiling water over the flour in a mixing bowl and stir vigorously until the flour is hydrated and makes a thick, smooth paste. Cool, cover, and leave out overnight at room temperature.
• The next day, make the dough. With a large metal spoon, mix together the flour and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the paste and olive oil. Stir together (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), adding as much water as it takes to make a soft, supple ball. It's okay if the dough is a little sticky because you can add more flour while kneading.
• Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead by hand for about 10 minutes (or mix for 6 to 8 minutes on medium speed with the dough hook; you can let the dough rest after 4 minutes of mixing and resume 5 minutes later to make it easier on your machine). The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Continue to sprinkle in more flour as needed. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours. If the dough doubles in size prior to that, knead it lightly to degas it (the "punch down") and return it to the bowl to continue fermenting until it doubles again or until a total of 2 hours has elapsed.
• Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal or semolina flour. Gently divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they should weigh about 18 ounces each), being careful to minimize degassing the dough. With a light touch to protect the internal gas, form the dough into boules. If you plan to bake the loaves as rounds, transfer the dough to the prepared sheet pan. If you prefer oblong loaves, shape the dough rounds into bâtards after a 15-minute resting period, and then place them on the prepared pan. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
• Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it nearly doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough by placing the covered pan in the refrigerator immediately after shaping and leave overnight. The dough should be nearly ready to bake when you pull it out of the refrigerator. If not, leave out at room temperature for a couple of hours.)
• Prepare the oven for hearth baking, making sure to have a steam pan in place. Pour 2 cups of water into the steam pan. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Just prior to baking, mist the loaves with water and dust lightly with bread flour by tapping some through a sieve held over the loaves or by flinging the flour across the surface of the dough. Score the breads as desired.
• Slide the breads directly on to the baking stone, parchment and all, or place the pan on the middle shelf of the oven. After 30 seconds, open the door, spray the oven walls with water, and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals, and then lower the oven setting to 450°F and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the steam pan 10 minutes after loading the oven (be careful not to splash yourself in case there's any water left), rotate the loaves 180 degrees for even baking, and continue baking for 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until the loaves turn a rich golden color and register over 200°F in the center. If the crust is getting too dark and the inside has not reached above 200°F, place an aluminum foil tent over the loaves and continue baking until the desired temperature is reached.
• Transfer the loaves to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.
• Note: A variation of this bread can be made with a biga instead of the flour paste, and comes out nicely as a salt-free Italian or French bread. I wouldn't call it true Tuscan bread, though, because it doesn't have that unique flavor brought about by the cooked flour. Unlike most hearth breads where we pour 1 cup of water into a steam pan, this bread calls for a pan with 2 cups of water to be preheated along with the oven. This extra water ensures a moist oven that yields a better shine on the crust.