L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020 LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Continued from page 28 even without kneading. F l o u r y o u r h a n d s a n d form the mass of dough into a b a l l w i t h o u t k n e a d i n g . J u s t s o r t o f g l a n c e y o u r hands over the surface of the d o u g h , t u c k i n g i t u n d e r itself to round it and smooth its surface (NB: use a mini- mum of flour both on the surface and on your hands, so you don't incorporate too much into the dough. A wet dough is important to the rustic texture of the bread). T h e n g i n g e r l y l a y t h e dough on a lightly floured tea towel, then fold the ends of the towel on top of the dough. Let the bread rise a g a i n ( t h i s s t e p i s c a l l e d "proofing" by bakers) until it r o u g h l y d o u b l e s i n s i z e , which can take anywhere f r o m 1 t o 2 h o u r s . I f y o u h a v e t h e t i m e , t a k e t h e whole 2 hours. About 30 minutes before the second rise is over, pre- h e a t y o u r o v e n t o 450F/230C. Put a 4-1/2 or 5-1/2 quart cast iron casse- role (about 10″ in diameter) with its cover, in the oven to preheat along with the oven i t s e l f . T h i s w i l l a c t a s a n o v e n i n s i d e t h e o v e n : i n t e n s e l y h o t a n d s m a l l e n o u g h t h a t i t r e t a i n t h e moist atmosphere that really excellent bread needs. Now you're ready to bake. This is the one tricky part of the recipe, and just a little dangerous as you'll need to handle the very hot cast iron casserole. Make sure you have heavy oven mitts (it'll be too hot for a towel) and proceed with care! Take the casserole out of the oven using your oven mitt and lay it on a heat- resistant surface. (I use a a turkey carving board with s p i k e s t h a t h o l d t h e p o t slightly above the surface). Then remove the cover and lay it aside. Take the towel with the dough and quickly f l i p t h e d o u g h i n t o t h e c a s s e r o l e ( i t w i l l g o i n upside down, which is fine). Shake the casserole, if need be, to center the dough and then quickly re-cover it. Put the casserole back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then take it out and remove the cover. The bread will be ever so slightly browned. N o w p u t t h e c a s s e r o l e back into the oven, uncov- ered, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until it has developed a beautiful gold- en brown crust. Turn the b r e a d o u t o n t o a c o o l i n g rack and leave it until it has c o m p l e t e l y c o o l e d . ( T h i s cooling period is critical, as the crumb (ie, the 'insides' of the bread) will continue t o c o o k ; y o u m a y h e a r i t "crackle" as it does, which means it's doing its job. W h e n t h e b r e a d h a s c o o l e d c o m p l e t e l y , a f t e r a b o u t 4 5 m i n u t e s t o a n hour, it is ready to enjoy! Notes on pane case- reccio The best flour for making h o m e m a d e b r e a d i s , o f course, bread flour. Bread flour has a high gluten (pro- tein) content that produces a n i c e , f i r m c r u m b a n d c r u s t y c r u s t . T h e s e d a y s , with so many people making their own bread, it is fairly easy to find in better super- m a r k e t s . I t c a n a l s o b e ordered online. But if you l i k e , y o u c a n a l s o u s e a l l p u r p o s e f l o u r ; i t w o r k s almost as well. T h e p r e c i s e a m o u n t o f salt depends on your taste and the kind of bread you want to make. Tuscan bread is famously low or no-salt. In Italy, homemade bread is meant for eating with food, so it can (and should) be a little on the bland side. If you'd like bread more suit- able for eating on its own, add more salt. You'll need to use trial and error to get the results you like. For me, a big pinch (at least a table- spoon) give me the result I like. As for the casserole, the u s u a l b r a n d s , s u c h a s L e Creuset, Staub and Lodge, all make the kind of casse- role you'll need. Lahey says he likes Staub the best, and t h a t ' s t h e b r a n d I u s e a s well, but it's an expensive solution (around $250). Le Creuset has one drawback, w h i c h i s t h a t t h e p l a s t i c knob on the cover is only guaranteed up to 375F, just under the temperature you need. And since constantly baking an empty casserole at high temperatures will, over time, discolor whatever type you use, you may just want to opt for the economi- cal choice: the Lodge, which costs only $30. T h i s r e c i p e f o r h o m e - m a d e b r e a d i s a n o n l y slightly revised version of the basic no-knead bread recipe found in My Bread. I've upped the water content slightly (as I like a "crumb") and lengthened the initial rise even more, but other- w i s e t h i s i s h i s r e c i p e . I heartily recommend you buy the book, which is filled with little tips and tricks on not mentioned here. Post scriptum: You can make a wonderful whole- wheat loaf using the exact same recipe, except using 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups white bread flour. Whether whole wheat or not, with more bread-mak- ing experience, I find I like t o a d d m o r e w a t e r t h a n Jim's recipe calls for, up to 2 cups. The resulting dough is very wet: too wet to handle with bare hands, but if you flour the surface and your hands well enough, it will work out fine. There's a say- ing, the wetter the dough, the better the bread, and I t o t a l l y a g r e e ! T h e c r u m b y o u g e t f r o m a v e r y w e t dough is fantastically chewy and full of flavor. The "holey" insides of pane casereccio are the result of leaving the dough wetter than usual (Photo: Dreamstime)

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