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This bread IS good enough to eat~ great crust color and crumb…
Thank you so much! I just made this Italian bread and the sourdough recipe is my go to. My only challenge right now is to get a good color on the top of the bread, it’s always light brown-almost grayish, but way delicious and good crust
I’m glad you’re enjoying the breads. Do you bake your loaves on a baking stone? I had trouble getting the golden brown color until I started using a baking stone. The high heat helps to create the crusty exterior. It also helps to rotate the loaves for even baking.
Just finished baking these beauties. I am confused about why the biga has to go in the fridge? Especially if you are going to bake it in the morning. I did have to gently fold it down in the night, but apart form that it behaved beautifully! I think I have some trouble seeing the way your form the loaves, though I think I folded the short to short instead of long side to long side. Also I watched these dear Italian sisters making Pugliese on YouTube and I was struck by the way she used her wrist to seal the loaf. Much like your photo. The bread was delicious! had a piece for lunch as it had sat for 1 hour. the EVOO in the dough makes all the difference! The flavour was outstanding and the crumb was completely unexpected. We are subject to such Fluffy crumbs from the store! Or such a firm crumb that it is uncomfortable to eat. I was smitten! I used my Cuisinart Stand mixer to knead as I don’t have a lot of elbow room, but Oh… what a success! Sprayed like a fiend, and it was fun.
I’m so glad your loaves turned out well. The overnight rest in the refrigerator helps to slow down the fermentation process. But if it’s not too hot in your kitchen and you don’t mind getting up in the middle of the night, then it sounds like your method worked just fine.
It’s sort of hard to take a photo while you’re shaping bread, but I did fold the dough from long end to long end and gently pressed on it with the edge of my hand. The video sounds like a good one to watch. So glad you had fun.
Ive made a biga using sourdough starter and want to turn it into a long ferment sourdough. Any knowledge on this?
Hello Dom, by long ferment sourdough, are you referring to creating a sourdough levain and letting it rest overnight? If so, here is an example: http://breadmakingblog.breadexperience.com/2014/12/pain-au-romarin-sourdough-rosemary-bread.html
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Can you help me? I have a recipe that calls for “Italian” bread, but people keep telling me that is the same as “ciabatta” bread. What is the difference?
Hello Lynne, ciabatti bread is an Italian bread that utilizes a very wet dough and generally has huge holes in it. Regular Italian Bread is similar to a French baguette but it includes olive oil so it’s a bit softer on the inside.
I finally found some Diastatic Bsrley malt powder. What a difference a tiny bit makes I this recipe!
I also use a bit of whole wheat flour sifted to remove the bigger bran flakes. This makes a really delicious bread. What Peter Reinhardt call World Claas Bread! (Or is it Mark Forsh?)
I also aged the biga for 72 hours in the fridge.