Challah

       This week I continued improving my bread baking skills by spending about five hours creating a delicious challah or egg bread. I used a recipe from The Il Fornaio Baking Book by Franco Galli. This dish was easier than I thought it would be with a very light and easily manipulated dough.  I had some problems with the presentation of the bread but the end product was delicious and rich.  

Kneading the dough 

Three strands ready to braid. 

The first step was to make a biga or starter, if you want more information on this piece, check out my first blog post. Once the biga spent 20 hours rising, I mixed flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and created a well. Then I added eggs, oil, and biga to the well and began stirring with a spoon, working the dough until it was well mixed and sticky. At this point Galli recommends to, “ begin kneading the dough in the bowl (it will be quite sticky), keeping one hand clean in order to hold and turn the bowl and using the other hand to work the dough,” (Galli 77).  I quickly followed his instructions kneading the dough until it came together easily into a ball. Next, I let the dough rise for about one and a half  hours in a covered bowl. When I return the dough had about doubled in size. I carefully punch the air out with my fingertips before laying it out to rise for another hour.

Finished braid! 

Finally it was time to braid the dough. I divided the dough into three equal portions then following Galli’s advice, “Working with one portion at a time and using the palms of your hands, roll it into a “strand” about 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter,” (Galli 77). I carefully rolled the three sections into strands then I began to weave  them together like one would  braid hair. The braid came together surprisingly easily and looked good once finished. I covered the braid and let it rise for another hour.

Unfortunately, in my rush I didn't think about covering the braids and once it has risen most the braid had stuck to the towel! The  braid design was completely ruined but I used an egg wash and baked it anyways. Although I didn't have the nice braided look, it tasted delicious.

Oops! The ruined braid. 

Next time I try this recipe I will be careful about covering the braid and perfecting my presentation. Have you ever baked a braided or woven bread before? Have you ever enjoyed one? Let me know in the comments below.

Final product. 

Forming Focaccia First

The biga once it had fermented in the fridge

While Italy is known as the world leader in fine leather goods, marble, and ancient masterpieces, it is less known as the birthplace of a often overlooked craft, gourmet baked goods. Many recipes for the delicious goods lining the counters of bakeries around the world originated in Italy. I am embarking on a mission to learn about and be able to craft breads and I sweets to astound every customer at a bake sale. In the past, I have enjoyed trying out different bread recipes with varied success; I have had trouble getting dough to rise consistently. However, after reading The Il Fornaio Baking Book, by Franco Galli, I have found new strategies and tips to insure that my dough will rise as well as challenging new recipes. My first challenge was to bake a Focaccia Alla Genovese, a flat bread covered in olive oil that I remember enjoying all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Galli’s method involves making a biga to leaven the bread. If you have never heard of biga think of well fed yeast. If you paid attention back in fifth grade science, you would remember that yeast is a living organism that produces carbon dioxide. This chemical reaction is used in most bread recipes to produce light and airy bread, but packaged yeast cannot always do the job on its own. The old Italian way of getting bread to rise, biga is a mix of yeast, flour, and water. This mix is set in a cool place and allowed to ferment, activating and feeding the yeast until a baker scoops some up and combines it with other ingredients to create soft, fluffy dough. If a biga acida or sourdough starter is required, the yeast is kept alive and “fed” flour and water until it forms spores that contain the sour flavor. Jars of starter can be kept for years, used again and again and referred to as “mother dough.” One woman claims to have a starter that is 122 years old!  

Kneading the dough.

After my biga had fermented in the fridge for two days, I was ready to start my dough. I gathered my ingredients and brought them up to room temperature before mixing packaged yeast and water to supplement the biga in the dough. I combined all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then carefully added the wet ingredients. Kneading is one of the toughest parts of making bread, working the dough like an elastic band across the countertop and trying to force it into a smooth, well mixed ball.

This accomplished, I placed the dough into an oiled bowl, covered it with a damp washcloth to keep the surface from drying out, and put the bowl aside in a warm space, where it rose for the next hour and a half.

The dough finally ready to bake.

Once the dough had doubled in size, I turned it over and then set it back to rise again for another hour. When it was considerably larger in size, I shaped into a square per Galli’s instructions and then set to rise one more time. Galli recommends baking loaves on stone because “porous unglazed stones gives them a wonderful crisp crust that baking on sheets cannot match”(Galli, 15). I happened to have a pizza stone that I set on the bottom shelf of my oven, which I preheated to 425*F. Gali also recommended misting with water before baking. This was a step that was entirely new to me but I tried it out, trusting the expert.

Finally the dough was done rising for the last time. To make the standard dimples in the top of the focaccia, I pressed my finger into the dough before painting the surface with a light coat of olive oil. Carefully I transferred the dough onto the blistering hot pizza stone in the oven. Galli recommended baking the bread for five minutes, misting the oven, and then baking for 30 more minutes. Once the crust looked like a corgi’s rear end, I pulled the bread from the blazing hot oven and set it on wire racks to cool.

The bread cooling after it was done baking. 

Overall I’m happy with the way my bread turned out -- especially for my first try. Not only is it edible, but I got some compliments when I shared it with my family. If I had a chance to try this recipe again, I would paint it with a little more oil and mist it less often, hoping to make the crust turn out a little softer.

What delicious Italian recipe should I bake next? Calzones, Braided bread, or Sponge Cake? Let me know in the comments what you recommend.