From: Patrick
Subject: help with a part
Culinary Parts Unlimited (800) 543-7549 is as good as its name. I've
posted this contact before, but everyone should have it in their resource
file. No surprise, it's a big help to have the model number of the machine
you're seeking a part for ... but they are well-versed and well worth a call.
from: Shauna
Can someone who's had success with this book give me some pointers on
dealing with the sticky, soupy dough?
While I haven't purchased the No Need to Knead book specifically, I have
recently been playing with Ciabatta dough (more on this later in the msg).
It's real...well...SLURPY. I got the big metal cookie spade from King
Arthur (though if you're handy you could surely make one at home virtually
for free). It's almost a foot square and has a plastic handle with an oval
hole in it for easy gripping. I can slither it under the slurpy dough and
slop the dough onto the baking sheet, much like using a peel (which would
probably work too). You're not picking this stuff up by hand, that's for
sure. Anything very thin and flat would probably do the trick ... maybe
that nasty, thin cookie sheet that you only use for collecting the
boil-over from your apple pies??
From: Cindy
Subject: inexpensive Brotforms?
I think the very fine advice was, put a thin untextured towel (flour
sacking or similar), well floured, into any cheap basket of your
choice. Let the bread rise in it, invert it gently onto the baking sheet,
and enjoy the lovely result.
Now on to the good stuff--the Ciabatta recipe and its rescue. Here's a
sneak peek at former-private correspondence between me and a good buddy in
The Hague, The Netherlands ... who I believe is a lurker, but I hope my
(approved) publishing of her coaching will encourage her to contribute in
person!
Me to my friend:
You know, some days one is dummer than others. Brought up a dandy Ciabatta
bread recipe that had wowed people last year, and reminded me very much of
the little rectangular flatbread you served us one night at dinner. But I
read through it and find I've left out the second dose of flour & water
(aargh!!). Of course I recycled the recipe many months ago. Wonder if you
can lend advice on the second step.
The first step is an overnight biga consisting of a cup of water to 3+ cups
of flour and a tablespoon of dry yeast. This sits overnight (as I type!)
and softens to an oatmeal-like consistency. Then in the morning, I'm
s'-posed to add more flour and water to work in the bowl to a "shaggy mass"
and then turn it into two loaves pretty much like your nice one.
Got any advice on how much flour and water to add in the second pass?
Friend to me:
This is surely not a case of dumbitude -- if one kept every last promising
recipe, one would be ankle-deep in them, and never have room to walk
around. As I suspect we both know all too well...
But back to your blob of biga. You have heaps of choice. A whole
tablespoon of yeast will raise anything up to 20 cups of flour if you've
got the time. But assuming you haven't gone into the ciabatta business on
an industrial scale, and assuming you want two loaves roughly 9 X 13, then
all you need to do is decide how thick and "bready" you want them.
The ones I usually make are more focaccia than ciabatta -- they're breadier
and the dough is sturdier and less gloppy. For those I'd use about 3 1/2 -
4 cups of flour total per loaf (counting both the biga and the second-step
addition), plus the odd bit for kneading. If you already have a biga with a
cup of water and 2+ cups of flour, that would be something like 4+ cups
more flour and 1/2 - 3/4 cup more water for 2 large flat loaves. Our flour
here is pretty low-gluten and doesn't require as much water as you probably
normally use. Our weather is also humid, as perhaps you recall...
Ciabatta is usually wetter than focaccia, and usually requires another
rising before you form it into loaves. Italians like to use very
low-gluten flour for this kind of thing, so it's _really_ slack. So add the
flour (maybe 3 1/2 - 4 cups) and then add water until you reach your
preferred state of glop. Then add the salt and watch the whole thing
develop and get springy as soon as you do. Set it aside to rise. After
the second rise, the dough is very bubbly, so you have to be careful not to
destroy the bubbles when you form it into loaves. Rather than kneading it,
just cup your oiled hands around the dough and turn it over in the bowl a
few times, then divide it up into loaves and ease them into greased pans or
onto your peel without pounding them down.
For focaccia, you make a stiffer dough and after you flatten it into
loaves, you poke indentations in the surface with your fingertips, pour oil
on top so it collects in the holes, and sprinkle with coarse salt. Let
rise and bake. Herbs can be added with the second addition of flour or
sprinkled on top. Ciabatta is usually just baked plain and gets its charm
from the holes in the dough.
Both these doughs benefit from a bit more salt than people tend to use, in
order to keep it strong enough to support the bubbles and not taste
insipid. About a scant 1/2 teaspoon salt per cup of flour, I would say.
Not too much oil -- no more than a half-tablespoon per 4 cups of flour,
probably a bit less, or it will get heavy. You'll be oiling your hands to
work with it anyway, and that will add some.
Sounds yummy! What are you serving it with?
Me to friend:
Thanks for the grand tour of un-kneaded breads. I took a gut hunch and added
a cup of water; the remaining "flour" was semolina which always does like a
good drink. In the end you cut the dough in half, do your best to segregate
the two pieces on your work surface, and finally slide a couple of turners
under each and flip it onto a semolina-covered baking sheet. They were grand.
I loved your ramble through casual breads. Would you mind if I send it along
(suitably anonymized) with my end recipe to the bread-bakers list?
Me to the list: so in the end, here's the recipe:
Ciabatta (originally from Bon Appetit, sometime in spring '99)
BIGA
17 Tblsp warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
3 1/3 cups bread flour (or white flour + 1 tsp. vital wheat gluten)
LOAF
1 cup warm water
1 pinch active dry yeast
11 Tblsp semolina flour (this is the sandy yellow flour you use to make pasta)
2 1/2 tsp. salt
additional semolina flour to prevent sticking
BIGA: Sprinkle yeast over warm water; let stand until proofed (about 8
minutes). Add 1 cup flour, stir until blended. Scrape sides of bowl; add
another cup of flour. Repeat blending & scraping. Add remaining 1 1/3
cups flour; cut in until small moist clumps form. (Preceding steps can be
completed in food processor if desired.) Gather dough into a ball; place
in large bowl (dough will be firm). Cover; chill overnight. Biga will
soften, resembling thick oatmeal in texture.
DOUGH: Pull biga into walnut-sized pieces; place in a clean large
bowl. Add water, yeast & 11 Tblsp semolina. Using one hand, squeeze
ingredients together for 2 minutes. Work dough for four minutes by
scooping sections from the sides of the bowl and pressing them into the
center, blending into a very soft, shaggy mass. Using a spatula, scrape
dough from the sides of the bowl into the center. Let the dough rest in
bowl 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the salt over the dough. Using one hand, knead dough by rotating
the bowl 1/4 turn at a time, scooping dough from the sides and folding down
into the center until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the
bowl, about 5 minutes. Scrape dough from hand and sides of bowl. Cover
bowl with towel; let dough rest in bowl 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F. Sprinkle work surface with additional
semolina. Turn dough out onto semolina. Using pastry scraper or large
knife, cut dough in half; keep halves separated. Let stand, uncovered, 20
minutes.
Sprinkle 2 large baking sheets with additional semolina. Transfer each
dough half, semolina side UP, to one sheet. Stretch each dough half to 16"
x 4" rectangle. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple
the surface. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes; cool on rack.
(I originally made this as an offering for the after-performance snacks for
my son's piano teacher's spring recital. Usually it's sugar in 50
varieties, so I cut this bread into "fingers" and made some low-fat dips
and provided veggies. Guess who brought home an EMPTY plate!!)