- Put flour, 90% of the water and starter in the bowl of the mixer and mix until just incorporated
- Let rest, covered, for 30 minutes (autolyse)
- Add the salt and mix on low speed for 5 minutes or until gluten is developed to improved mix (when taking a piece of dough in wet hands and stretching it gently in all directions, you should be able to see translucent and opaque areas and the dough doesn't tear readily, adding the rest of the water as necessary to get a medium soft consistency
- Slowly incorporate the garlic oil, then the cheese, onion and chives
- Transfer dough to oiled bucket and cover tightly (it should be tacky and soft)
- Let ferment at warmish room temperature for 2 to 3 hours (or until the dough, when poked, keeps the imprint of your finger)
- Turn the dough out on a slightly oiled surface and pre-shape as a boule
- Let it rest 20 minutes
- Shape as a tight boule and let it proof on a piece of parchment paper (dusted with semolina flour or corn meal) under plastic sheet for 1 hour at warmish room temperature
- Turn on the oven to 450F/232C taking care to put an empty metal pan on the lower shelf
- When the boule is ready, massage it with olive oil, dimpling it with your fingers
- Spread the topping on it
- Score in a circle all around the topping (Oops! I actually forgot that step!)
- Pour a cup of cold water into the empty metal pan and slide the boule directly on the baking stone
- Spray the oven generously with cold water
- Bake for 25 minutes, check the loaf, if necessary tent a piece of foil over the top to prevent burning
- Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer for a total of 35 minutes
- Let cool on a wire rack and use a lot of self-restraint not to tear into it before it is cold!
My loaf isn't quite as pretty as Kathy's since I forgot the scoring which creates a nice "frame" for the topping. Also the crust seems a bit thinner to me and the crumb a bit tighter. That may be because:
- My starter was not quite mature enough. I had fed it the afternoon before leaving for the night but it got very cold in the house (it was in the low 50's when I came back the following day) and the starter looked quite dormant. I put it in front of a space heater to wake it up and waited about 3 hours before mixing but still, it might have used a little bit more fermentation time.
- As mentioned before, I didn't use the same flour as Kathy. I am curious to see what will happen when I use a stronger (more gluten-rich) flour.
Saunds delicious, I'll try these.
ReplyDeleteI 'm glad you cam back ! I missed you.
Alla.