Crusty Italian Bread

Bread  Baking with Amy Scherber
AMY’S BREAD
75 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 462-4338

Makes 3 Loaves

Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes.

Add the cool water and sponge to the yeast mixture and mix with your fingers for about 2 minutes, breaking up the sponge. The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy.

Add the flour and salt and mix with your fingers to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the ingredients together until the dough gathers into a mass. It will be wet and sticky, with long strands of dough hanging from your fingers. If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.

Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until it becomes supple and fairly smooth. This a sticky, wet dough; don’t be tempted to add more flour to the work surface. Just dust lightly and use a dough scraper as necessary to loosen the dough from the table during kneading. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes, covered with oiled plastic wrap.

Knead the dough 5 to 7 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth,yet still slightly sticky. Shape the dough into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature (75º to 77ºF) for about 1 hour, or until the dough looks slightly puffy but has not doubled. (Here the dough can be made directly or retarded.)

If you like, place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or preferably, overnight to let it relax, develop flavor and become more manageable.

Take the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until it begins to warm up and starts to rise.

Flour a work surface well and gently dump the dough onto it. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, about 13 ounces each. gently flatten on piece, pressing out some of the air bubbles, and stretch it into a rectangle. Form the dough into a log, and then into a short baguette. Cover an area on the work surface with a thick layer of flour and place the loaf, seam side down, on the flour. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. The leaves will be loose and slightly irregular in shape. Leave plenty of space between the loaves — they will spread as they rise. Cover the loaves with well-oiled plastic and let them rise for about 1 hour.

Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475º F. Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat and position an oven rack just below the stone.

Sprinkle a peel very generously with cornmeal. Line a upside-down baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle very generously with cornmeal. Lift one loaf, flip over so the floured side is on top, and gently tug on the ends to stretch the loaf to the full length of the peel, or about 14 inches on a pan. Repeat with the remaining loaves, placing 2 on the peel and 1 on the baking stone. Place the pan of bread on the rack below the stone.  Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves with water 8 to 10 times, then quickly shut over door. Mist the loaves again after 1 minute. Then mist again 1 minute later.

Bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 450º and bake 15 minutes longer or until the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and the crust is a medium to dark brown. (If the crust is not brown enough,t he loaves will soften as they cool.) Transfer the bread to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.