Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [301]
Some of the best bread flour in the world is produced in Apulia, the spur and heel of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula. It was on a visit there that Mita acquired the recipe for Apulian olive bread, a product of the baker’s craft that proves irresistible from the first bite. The method makes use of a starter dough known as biga. Biga, made from a small quantity of yeast and flour that is given an overnight rising, is the foundation on which Italian country bakers often build their breads. It acts upon the dough to which it is added in a manner similar to that of natural, ambient yeast, bestowing on the finished loaf exceptional flavor, fragrance, and airiness.
Food processor note: In this recipe, the dough is worked entirely by hand. It is not at all a lengthy process, just rather sticky because of the consistency of the dough, but it produces bread with better texture than the food processor does. If you must, you can use the processor for all the kneading steps, after you have made the starter.
1 round loaf Apulian olive bread
FOR THE STARTER (BIGA)
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
1¼ cups unbleached flour
Extra virgin olive oil
FOR THE DOUGH
5 ounces black, round Greek olives, see description in Focaccia with Black Greek Olives
1½ cups lukewarm water
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
3¾ cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
PLUS
A baking stone
A baker’s peel (paddle)
Cornmeal
1. For the starter: In a bowl dissolve the ½ teaspoon yeast by stirring it into ½ cup lukewarm water. When it has dissolved completely, about 10 minutes or less, add the 1¼ cups flour and stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon to distribute the yeast uniformly in the flour.
2. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly filmed with olive oil, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place the bowl in a place protected equally from cold draughts and heat. Let it rise overnight for 14 to 18 hours, until it has more than doubled in volume.
3. When ready to proceed, start to prepare the dough by cutting the olives all the way around their middles and loosening them from the pits. Pull the olives apart any way they come.
4. Put ½ cup of the lukewarm water in a large bowl and stir into it the 1½ teaspoons dry yeast. When it has completely dissolved, add to the bowl half the biga (starter), 1¼ cups of the flour, and the 2 teaspoons salt, and mix with a spatula until all ingredients are well integrated. Then add the remaining 2½ cups flour and the remaining 1 cup lukewarm water, pouring it in gradually, while mixing steadily with the spatula. Add the pitted olives and continue to mix the dough, occasionally lifting it out of the bowl with the spatula, then slapping it back in. Mix the dough in this manner until it comes easily loose from the bowl, about 8 minutes or so.
5. Dust a work counter lightly with flour, and turn out the dough from the bowl onto the counter. Work the dough for a few minutes with the spatula, slipping the spatula under the edges and folding them over toward the center. Move the spatula over each time until you have circled the whole mass of dough and folded the edges over at least once. Dust the work surface with flour occasionally if necessary to keep the dough from sticking.
6. Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a clean bowl, put the dough into the bowl, and turn it in all directions until it is evenly coated with oil. Dampen a towel, wring out excess moisture, and cover the bowl with it. Put the bowl in a warm, protected corner for about 3 hours, until it has approximately doubled in volume.
7. Dust the work counter with flour, and turn the dough in the bowl