December 15, 2015 - 6:58am
Southern Italian open-crumb bread.
Hi Guys,
My name is Aidy, and I have been baking bread for approx. 2 months now. I have also built my own Italian stone oven to bake with and enjoy!
I would appreciate any advice from members who bake Italian styled breads... my wife's family come from a small village near Frosinone in Southern Italy. Their local bread is a round pagnotta that has a crusty shell and an open crumb interior texture.
I have tried a few different recipes, some better than others... but would really appreciate advice on how to achieve that wonderful "open crumb" chewy texture!
Thanks
Aidy
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Aidy
Welcome to the forum.
Two months in and you already have your stone oven built. Man, am I behind. Is that wood fired?
The key to 'open crumb' would be high hydration doughs and time/gluten development as I've experienced it. These also tend to lead to a chewier crumb. Kneading and shaping techniques as well as flour and yeast choice can also play a significant role.
Just to get you started, if you do a search on this forum for 'open (or chewy) crumb', it should lead you to some informative discussions from the past.
I'm sure many others (more expert than I) will chime in shortly.
dobie
Hi Dobie,
Yes it's a wood fired oven as I wanted it to be as authentic as possible. Thanks for the reply and for the advice... are you suggesting a longer ferment / proofing time? i.e. in the fridge over night?
A
Aidy
Regarding your WFO, I would love to see some pics (finished as well as under construction).
Regarding longer ferment/proofing. Exactly. Some do it in bulk, some after shaping. But either way will get you there.
Check out this link to dmsnyder's Italian baguettes.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/42511/sourdough-italian-baguettes
and alfonso's double hydration Bouabsa Baguettes (French, yes, but a very useful video) on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYvORu_oLYc
I know they're not boules, but that is just a matter of shaping.
Both David and Alan are well worth checking out on such matters (and have extensive blogs as well).
dobie
One of the open crumb breads of that neck of the woods is a Pugliese bread. Searching for recipes with that name will help (including searching here on TFL). One of my favorites when done well...
But in general, as above, getting the hydration level up and getting used to handling and judging the progress of highly hydrated dough is what it is all about.
One of the popular references on the really open crumb, rustic style (while not explicitly Italian at all) is Roberson's Tartine Bread.
Here is one of my recent renditions, using a percentage of Kamut instead of the durum often found in Pugliese (they are closely related varieties), and following the basic Tartine formula and method :