Carol Field's The Italian Baker (Harper & Row, 1985) has a recipe for
Pane Pugliese. She recommends a mixer to knead it, and has VERY thorough
instructions. Here are the ingredients and some brief instructions.
Pane Pugliese (2 large or 3 small loaves)
1 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast or 1/2 small cake (9 grams) fresh yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups water, room temperature
4/5 cup (200 grams) Biga (starter made from 1/4 tsp dry yeast, 1/4 c warm
water, 3/4 cup room temperature water, and 2 1/2 cups flour. Let this
rise 6-24 hrs at cool room temperature, and store in the refrigerator
until wanted)
7 1/2 cups (1000 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (20 grams) salt
Proof the yeast in the warm water. Add 3 c water and the starter, mix
till blended. Add flour and salt, mix till dough comes together and pulls
off the sides of the bowl. Knead 3-5 minutes in a mixer, longer by hand.
Dough will be very soft and elastic. Let rise about 3 hours, shape into
3 round loaves or 2 big flattish ones. If you have baking stones, place
loaves on whatever you use to slide them into the oven with, or on your
baking sheets on sprinkled corn meal if you don't. Let rise about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 450F, and 5 to 10 minutes before baking flour the loaves'
tops and dimple them with your fingers. Bake 50-60 minutes for big loaves,
30-35 minutes for little ones. Tap the loaves to test for doneness
(hollow=done) and cool on a rack.
I don't know if The Italian Baker is still in print, but it is an
excellent book, well worth hunting for. Senza il pane tutto diventa
orfano. (This, and some other sayings, came from her introduction.)
Kathy Warner (kwarner@halcyon.com)