Pane all'Olio

The biga can be made the night before the baking day and fermented for 12 hours at room temperature. It can also be made the day before, fermented for 12 hours and then refrigerated overnight. If refrigerated, you should let it warm up for an hour at room temperature before mixing the dough.

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 8, 2010 - 11:42pm

When I first baked bread back in the late '70's, one of my favorites was the “Pane all'Olio” or “Mantovana Bread” from Marcella Hazan's “More Classic Italian Cooking.” Even then, Hazan referred to this bread as one that “used to be common” in Northern Italy. I have no idea how common it is today. Perhaps Giovanni (JoeV on TFL) can tell us.

The Pane all'Olio is a low-hydration bread. In Hazan's recipe, half the flour is in a biga which has the same hydration as the final dough. I had some biga naturale left over from the Sourdough Italian Bread I made yesterday, so I decided to use it to make a sourdough version of Pane all'Olio. I did boost the hydration from 56% to 61%, to suit my taste. The dough is still very much drier than that of most breads I've been baking recently. Otherwise, I maintained Hazan's ingredient proportions.

The procedure for making this bread is unusual in that, after the biga is added and the dough kneaded, it is allowed to ferment until doubled, then divided and shaped and baked, without proofing. It has a long bake in a relatively cool oven, to give it a thick, crunchy crust.

Biga:

Baker's %

Weight

Flour

100

314.76

Water

236.07

Salt

Yeast

Starter

157.38

708.21

Note: The original starter is backed out of the biga before mixing with the other Final Dough ingredients.

The loaf had a nice crunchy crust. The crumb was tender. The flavor was “good,” but, besides being a bit salty to my taste, it seemed rather dull and uninteresting compared to the breads I've been making and eating of late. (My wife's comment was, “It's good … but ... not like your other bread.”)

Oh, well. One must always have a back-up. Mine actually came out of the oven before the Pane all'Olio was baked.

The Cinnamon-Raisin-Walnut Bread from BBA is always a palate pleaser at our house. (My wife's comment was, “Did you leave some out for breakfast?”)

Submitted by OldWoodenSpoon on February 9, 2010 - 12:24am.

That is a very nice crumb

for "only" 61% hydration. It does not look at all dry, though I understand what you mean by the comparison to your "other" recent bakes. Is the hydration at the root of the mild crust color you finished with as well? I can imagine it as a function of shorter baking time due to that lower moisture content.

I must say, it would be nice to have some of that cinnamon-raisin-walnut loaf with one of your coffees at breakfast! You wouldn't be thinking of starting a little cafe on the side would you?

Hope you are feeling better David.
OldWoodenSpoon

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 9, 2010 - 9:26am.

Thanks, OWS!

The crumb was surprisingly open to me - much more so than the last time I made this bread some 30 years ago. (!) Good gluten development is the key, I think.

The light-colored crust was meant to be. It is due to the lower baking temperature. The baking time was long, for a loaf of this weight.

No cafe plans in my future. That's real work. I'll stick to playing with the other kids for a living, thank you.

David

Submitted by arlo on February 9, 2010 - 4:54am.

I agree with OWS, the crumb

I agree with OWS, the crumb looks very nice for being 61%. And you said that was white bread as well? The crumb does look a bit tinted for white bread. Either way, that looks very, very nice.

The cinnamon-raisin-walnut loaf is exceptional David. A deserving centerpiece for any breakfast table!

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 9, 2010 - 9:27am.

Thanks, Arlo!

The photo does make the crumb look darker than it really is.

Submitted by CaptainBatard on February 9, 2010 - 5:24am.

I am sitting at my computer...

with coffee in hand....and want to reach into the screen and grab a piece of that walnut loaf...Arlo is right...it is the centerpiece for my breakfast table this morning! (but all i can do is look at it) But i know what you are having for breakfast!

Cheers..getting ready for round 2 ...snow is on it's way!

Submitted by JoeVa on February 9, 2010 - 8:56am.

Mantovana

Take a look at THIS. It's an example of the tipical bread from Mantova city. The receipt uses lard instead of olive oil.

Anyway, it's really common to find (in "pianura padana") bread of "pasta dura" (stiff dough), bread from a stiff laminated dough that includes old dough and fat (vegetables/animals). The dough is really stiff, for our flour 45%-50% hydration. It has a thin crust and a white crumb with small alveoli.

HERE and HERE some photos.

Giovanni

Submitted by dmsnyder on February 9, 2010 - 9:39am.

Thanks, Giovanni!

I had found two of the three links you provided by searching for "pane mantovana." I was surprised by the use of lard, but I wonder if this is more common in Northern Italy, where olives are grown less than in the south. Hazan is from Emilia-Romana. I wonder if she made this bread with olive oil as a concession to American tastes, although she presents it as traditional.

I saw photos of the laminated-type loaf. I guess this increases the amount of crunchy crust.

The crumb was more open than I recall from when I made this bread with a yeasted biga. Also, I increased the hydration from what the formula called for - 56%, by my calculation (translating volume measurements to weight). Even at 61% hydration, this was a very stiff dough - not even tacky.

Thanks for providing the description.

Submitted by JoeVa on February 9, 2010 - 10:17am.