The secret of this basic bread dough is that flour is added to the liquids, rather than the other way round, which is what most regular bread recipes call for. Adding flour into the liquid allows the gluten and fibers to absorb more water, and as a result you get a more pliable dough and a moister, less crumbly bread. In other words, your bread tastes better! We learned this technique through Patricia Wells' excellent book At Home in Provence. In our house we use freshly ground spelt flour, but any good quality bread flour will work. Be creative and try to add other grains than wheat or spelt. Just keep wheat or spelt to 50% or more to provide gluten which makes your bread springy.
Serves:
6
Prep time:
21 minutes
Cook time:
40 minutes
Recipe Category
Cuisine
Ingredients
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
about 4 cups of bread flour
Instructions
Combine yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of warm water and mix lightly. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining water and stir in the oil and salt.
Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing slowly until most of the flour has been absorbed and the dough forms a ball.
Transfer the dough to a clean, slightly floured work surface.
Knead the dough by pushing away from you, lengthening it.
Fold the dough over, turn it a quarter turn, and push it out again.
Knead in this manner for at least 5 minutes. Add flour if necessary to keep the dough from becoming overly sticky, but keep it soft and satiny, even slightly sticky.
Transfer the dough to a plastic bag or bowl (cover the bowl), and let the dough rise until doubled or tripled in size. You can let the dough rise overnight in your refrigerator, or 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.
Punch down the dough, shape into bread loaves or rolls, and place onto a floured baking pan. Let rise until double in bulk.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Place bread into the oven, spray oven bottom and walls with water, and spray a couple more times during the next few minutes.
Bake the bread until the crust is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes for a medium size loaf.
Transfer to a rack and let cool.