Bread
Description
Homemade baking for tea. “Doctor’s” bread is very easy to bake. This recipe uses wheat sourdough starter “lievito madre” in a very small amount—only 5 grams. If you are not sure how strong your starter is, you can add a little yeast (3–5 grams); that will also speed things up a bit. Beyond that, the step-by-step recipe will help you make this tasty, wholesome bread. Serve warm or cooled. Perfect with tea.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients, including the preferment, which must be prepared in advance, 10–12 hours before kneading the dough (preferably from the evening before).
- 2
Step 2
To make the sponge, take 205 grams of water, 205 grams of wheat flour, and 5 grams of sourdough starter.
- 3
Step 3
Dissolve the starter in water, add the flour, mix, and cover with plastic wrap; leave at room temperature to ferment for 10–12 hours.
- 4
Step 4
To mix the dough, take 100 ml of water from the total amount and add all of the sponge; add sugar, sifted flour, and bran. Mix, then leave at room temperature for 30–40 minutes. If you’re not confident in your sourdough starter, at this stage you can add 3–5 grams of yeast.
- 5
Step 5
After 30–40 minutes, pour in the remaining water and knead the dough; then add salt to the dough you have already kneaded and knead again.
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Step 6
At the final stage of kneading the dough, add the butter and knead until it is incorporated; you may knead by hand or using a mixer.
- 7
Step 7
Gather the dough into a ball, cover with a lid, and leave to rise for 2–3 hours.
- 8
Step 8
Dust the work surface with a mixture of flour and bran, then lay out the dough.
- 9
Step 9
Shape the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- 10
Step 10
After 30 minutes, shape the loaf however you like, place it seam side up for proofing in a basket or bowl lined with cloth that has been dusted with flour mixed with bran so the dough does not stick while proofing. Proof for 1–1.5 hours.
- 11
Step 11
30–40 minutes before the end of proofing, turn on the oven and preheat it to 250 degrees. Carefully transfer the loaf to the baking sheet with the seam facing down. Bake at 250 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for another 30–40 minutes.
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Step 12
Cool the finished bread completely on a cooling rack. Do not cut the bread at this point, because bread formation is not yet complete.
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Step 13
Your efforts and patience will be rewarded with fragrant, tasty, and wholesome bread.