Ingredients:
0.5 Cup flour, pastry
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Directions:
The Sponge:
½ tsp active dry yeast (not rapid-rise)
1 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
The Dough
3 ½ cups bread flour
½ cup rye flour
2 Tbls honey
1 Tbls kosher salt or 2 tsp table salt
Course cornmeal
For the sponge: Dissolve yeast into 1 cup of tap water in medium sized bowl. Mix in 1 cup bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour with rubber spatula to create stiff, wet dough. Cover with plastic wrap; let sit at room temperature for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight. (this can be refrigerated up to 24 hours; return to room temperature before continuing with recipe.
For the dough: Mix remaining flours, 1 1/3 cups tap water, honey and sponge with rubber spatula in the bowl of an electric mixer. Knead, using dough hook attachment, on lowest speed until dough is smooth, about 15 minutes, adding salt during final 3 minutes. Transfer dough to large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until tripled in size, at least 2 hours.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly dust hands and top of dough with flour. Lightly press dough into a large disk. Fold toward center, overlapping edges easily. Using a large metal dough scraper or two metal spatulas, transfer dough; smooth side down, to colander or basket lined with heavily floured muslin. Cover loosely with large sheet of aluminum foil; let rise until almost doubled in size, at least 45 minutes.
As soon as dough begins to rise, adjust oven rack to low center position and arrange quarry tiles on rack to form 18 by 12 inch surface (or larger). On lowest oven rack, place small baking pan or cast-iron skillet to hold water. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Sprinkle coarse cornmeal liberally over entire surface of peel. Invert dough onto peel and remove muslin. Use scissors or serrated knife to cut three slashes on top of the dough.
Slide Dough from peel onto tiles. Wearing oven mitts and a long sleeved shirt, carefully add 2 cups of hot water to pan or cast iron-skillet. Bake until instant read thermometer inserted in bread registers 210 degrees and crust is very brown, 35 to 40 minutes, turning bread around after 25 minutes if not browning evenly. Turn oven off, open door, and let bread remain in oven for 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, then let cool to room temperature before slicing, about 2 hours. To crisp crust, warm in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
To knead in food processor: Mix half of sponge, half of flours and half of honey in food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse until roughly blended three or four second pulses. With machine running, slowly add 2/3-cup water through the feed tube; process until dough forms a ball. Let sit for 3 minutes, then add half the salt, and process to form smooth dough, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer dough to large, lightly oiled bowl, leaving metal blade in processor (some dough will remain under the blade). Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Proceed with recipe.
To knead by hand: Place sponge and all dough ingredients, except 2 cups of bread flour, in large bowl. Stir mixture with wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Work in reserved flour and turn dough out onto floured board. Knead by hand 5 minutes, incorporating no more than ¼ cup additional flour. Dough will be very wet and sticky. Proceed with recipe. |
