Pane rustica
This is the result of about a month's work. Started as ciabatta, but ciabatta means "slipper" in Italian, and I'm nowhere near on the shape and not going to get there. So I'm calling it pane rustica.
Started this loaf with a poolish (100g ea of flour and water), with an additional 100g of flour in the dough and 78% total hydration. Just enough bread to hold the holes together.
Baked in a Sharp Carousel, a countertop combo microwave/convection oven. Doubt I'll get to heaven on the crust color, but I'm there on the holes. Crust is thin and crunchy; crumb is what good rustic breads are all about: chewy.
The pleasure of bread comes from the chew -
Formula:
for the poolish
flour 50%
water 50%
yeast, a trace
for the dough:
all the poolish
flour 50%
water 28%
salt 2.5%
yeast, a trace
This one likes long slow proofing. I use KA Sir Lancelot (14% gluten) and three stretch-and-folds (last before shaping). Minimal handling. Baking on pre-heated firebrick.
This is repeatable.
A couple of questions:
1) Any chance of sharing a crust shot? Curious how it might look after being baked in such a small appliance.
2) Re: "long slow proofing", how long, and at what temp? Room temp, or in the fridge?
Good stuff - keep enjoying!
Tony
Tony,
I have a poor shot of the crust - the color is pale gold and sort of flecked rather than uniform golden brown. I'm not sure how to paste an image into a reply. The trick to getting good color is a combination of getting the temp right and then getting the loaf to the right height in the oven - and you only have about 10" to work with. All I can say for now is I'm getting closer. Currently, I remove the round metal tray from the oven, put a 1/2" round pizza stone on the carousel base with the firebricks riding side by side on top of the stone. I get about 1/8" of clearance when the carousel spins. Anybody for chewing gum and baling wire?
This is based on Ciril Hitz's ciabatta formula. He calls for 45 mins between stretch-and-fold but I've been letting the dough rise for 2+ hours between s&f. It just sits on the countertop in a Hefty Snap-Lid container. Overall, I'm getting 4-5 hours of proofing before baking. The KASL makes the dough indestructible.
Keep enjoying the bake, bud!
Tony
Sure sign of a good ferment and a good bake. Looks like your focused attention is paying off.
Since you are calling it pane rustica, maybe a bit of rye or whole wheat flour could find their way into a future bake. Maybe 5-10% of either? That would boost flavor without destroying the crumb structure. Just a thought.
Lovely bread.
Paul
ugly bakes 'Rustic'. Yours is gorgeous.
In the hot summer months in Phoenix, I too bake all of my breads in my mini oven that I take outside. It is a Cuisinart and has a convection setting too. It puts the best crust on bread of any oven I have ever used - bar none. The only thing better is a WFO and even that is questionable.
The reason is that the space is so small 12"x12"x9" for a 1,000 g loaf and you can get maga steam in there with 2 of Sylvia's steaming cups adn throw some water in the bottom as you close the door for instant steam. You can bake with steam and without convection at 450 F for 15 minutes and then remove the steam and turn it to convection for finishing the bake at 425 F convection. I have posted many a mini oven bake on my blog and I am always amazed at how great the bread turnes out.
Your bread is clasic example fo how good it can be in what some acall a toaster oven :-) Well done!
You post picturtes in the comments the same way you do for the post,
Nice to see another mini oven baker - Happy Baking
Great idea -a little whole wheat flour would be a great addition. Two more outings with this and i'm comfortable to start trying some changes - your suggestion will be first -