Have you ever had the experience of falling asleep in class, only to realize on test day, that the info presented in that class was exactly what you needed to know for the test?!?! So.... three+ years ago, I was in Puglia... visited Altamura even. Not only that, but I visited a BREAD BAKERY IN ALTAMURA.... And I was lucky enough to be with someone who KNEW the baker... and we were there early to watch him shape and bake loaves!
As you might have guessed, I wasn't baking bread back then. In my own defense, I was jet-lagged and otherwise a chronically sleep deprived first time mother of an infant, so even if I had tried to pay attention, I'm not sure how much I would have learned anyway. But OH... to be able to be back there. I'd jump right in and demand to be shown the shaping technique.... particularly for the 'U sckuanète’... or folded loaf - which is the one that stands out in my memory from the trip. But since I can't quite do that, I'm left to scour videos on YouTube for some hints of the shaping and then slow them down to half speed to obsessively study what is second nature to these bakers.
My bread obsession, my sourdough obsession in particular, started about a year ago. Recently, a friend from the Puglia trip challenged me to make the Altamura bread. And so then down the rabbit hole I went. I can't credit my fellow bakers on this site enough... especially Franco and even more so Lechem, for their guidance in getting started in this process. To date, I've made three loaves. Each has been delicious and difficult for me to keep my mits off. Not surprisingly, the shaping has been the biggest challenge, though I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.
These first three loaves, I've used 100% durum rimacinata... However, reexamining the DOP guidelines, it looks like you only need it to be at least 80% durum flour, so I'm considering, next time, adding some AP or bread flour to the mix to see what happens. And, of course, for leavening I'm using a durum sourdough starter. I've seen in several videos I've watched that bakers use some commercial yeast as well and while it is tempting to see what would happen if I did... I am a purist at heart and I believe in the strength of my starter.
Now that I'm gaining confidence in my ability to make this bread, all that's left to do is find a 500 year old wood burning stove to bake it in. Hmmm.......
I'm including some pics of my bakes thus far and welcome any feedback and/or helpful hints!
