Best Dark Tuscan Bread Pane Toscano Scuro Recipes

TUSCAN BREAD {PANE TOSCANO}

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add flour and knead into a ball. Place in a bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and linen towel and let sit overnight.
• I like to do this step the night before I plan to bake the bread.
• The next morning the starter should have doubled or tripled in size.
• In a mixer bowl add starter, lukewarm water and flour. Using a dough hook attachment knead for about 10-15 minutes slowly increasing the speed.As a result you should get soft dough that easily comes together into a ball.
• Give the dough a round shape and place it in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.Let rise for 1-2 hours or until it has triple in size.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Dust it with a little more flour.Using your fingers pat the dough down into a rectangular.Fold upper edges inside, then roll the dough into a loaf starting from the top.
• Transfer the loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Score the loaf with a blade or a sharp knife and cover it with a linen towel to rise for the last time for about 30-40 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450F.
• Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400F and bake for another 25-30 minutes.
• Let the bread cool on a cooling rack.

DARK TUSCAN BREAD (PANE TOSCANO SCURO)

Steps:

• STARTER, stir the yeast into the water and let it stand for 10 minutes, until creamy.
• Add the flour and stir with 100 strokes of a wooden spoon, or w/ the paddle of an electric mixer for 1 minute (I recommend the latter unless your arms look like Popeyes).
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until tripled, 6 hours to overnight.
• DOUGH, stir yeast into the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes, until creamy.
• Add the room temp water and the starter.
• Stir vigorously or squeeze the mixture between your fingers to break the starter up.
• Stir in the flours, half at a time, until thoroughly mixed.
• Knead dough on floured work surface until firm and resilient, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and punch it, then shape it into a large round loaf, or 2 oval loaves.
• Place on cornmeal-sprinkled peel or an oiled baking sheet.
• Dust the top (s) lightly with flour, cover with a lightly dampened towel, and let rise until doubled again, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 450F.
• Score top of loaf (ves) with a sharp knife or razor in a"tic-tac-toe" pattern and slide onto a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Bake 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 400F& bake 20 minutes for the smaller loaves, and 25 to 30 minutes for the large loaf.
• Loaf is done when they sound hollow when tapped.
• Cool on a rack.

TUSCAN BREAD

Steps:

• Make the paste 1 or 2 days before making the bread. Pour the boiling water over the flour in a mixing bowl and stir vigorously until the flour is hydrated and makes a thick, smooth paste. Cool, cover, and leave out overnight at room temperature.
• The next day, make the dough. With a large metal spoon, mix together the flour and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the paste and olive oil. Stir together (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), adding as much water as it takes to make a soft, supple ball. It's okay if the dough is a little sticky because you can add more flour while kneading.
• Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead by hand for about 10 minutes (or mix for 6 to 8 minutes on medium speed with the dough hook; you can let the dough rest after 4 minutes of mixing and resume 5 minutes later to make it easier on your machine). The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Continue to sprinkle in more flour as needed. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours. If the dough doubles in size prior to that, knead it lightly to degas it (the "punch down") and return it to the bowl to continue fermenting until it doubles again or until a total of 2 hours has elapsed.
• Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal or semolina flour. Gently divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they should weigh about 18 ounces each), being careful to minimize degassing the dough. With a light touch to protect the internal gas, form the dough into boules. If you plan to bake the loaves as rounds, transfer the dough to the prepared sheet pan. If you prefer oblong loaves, shape the dough rounds into bâtards after a 15-minute resting period, and then place them on the prepared pan. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
• Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it nearly doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough by placing the covered pan in the refrigerator immediately after shaping and leave overnight. The dough should be nearly ready to bake when you pull it out of the refrigerator. If not, leave out at room temperature for a couple of hours.)
• Prepare the oven for hearth baking, making sure to have a steam pan in place. Pour 2 cups of water into the steam pan. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Just prior to baking, mist the loaves with water and dust lightly with bread flour by tapping some through a sieve held over the loaves or by flinging the flour across the surface of the dough. Score the breads as desired.
• Slide the breads directly on to the baking stone, parchment and all, or place the pan on the middle shelf of the oven. After 30 seconds, open the door, spray the oven walls with water, and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals, and then lower the oven setting to 450°F and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the steam pan 10 minutes after loading the oven (be careful not to splash yourself in case there's any water left), rotate the loaves 180 degrees for even baking, and continue baking for 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until the loaves turn a rich golden color and register over 200°F in the center. If the crust is getting too dark and the inside has not reached above 200°F, place an aluminum foil tent over the loaves and continue baking until the desired temperature is reached.
• Transfer the loaves to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.
• Note: A variation of this bread can be made with a biga instead of the flour paste, and comes out nicely as a salt-free Italian or French bread. I wouldn't call it true Tuscan bread, though, because it doesn't have that unique flavor brought about by the cooked flour. Unlike most hearth breads where we pour 1 cup of water into a steam pan, this bread calls for a pan with 2 cups of water to be preheated along with the oven. This extra water ensures a moist oven that yields a better shine on the crust.

GIULIANO BUGIALLI'S PANE TOSCANO

Steps:

• Make the sponge: Dissolve the yeast in the water in a small bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Place the one-half cup flour in a larger bowl, add the dissolved yeast and mix with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated and a small ball of dough is formed. Sprinkle the additional tablespoon of flour over the ball of dough, then cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and put it in a warm place, away from drafts. Let stand until the sponge has doubled in size, about one hour.
• Make the dough: Arrange the six cups of flour in a mound on a clean work surface or pastry board and make a well in the middle. Place the sponge from the first rising in the well along with one-half cup of the lukewarm water. Carefully mix the water into the sponge with a wooden spoon.
• Add the remaining water and then, using your hands, gradually begin to mix in the flour from the rim of the well little by little. Keep mixing until all but four or five tablespoons of the flour are incorporated (about 15 minutes). Then begin to knead the dough with the palms of your hands until the dough is homogeneous and smooth, about 20 minutes. Mix the remaining flour into the dough if necessary to keep the dough from being sticky.
• Shape the loaf into a round or oval and place it on a floured cotton dish towel. Wrap the dough loosely in the towel and put it in a warm place away from drafts to stand until double in bulk, about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Be sure the bricks or tiles you are using are free of dust.
• As soon as the dough has doubled in size, carefully remove it from the towel and place it on the bricks in the oven. Bake the bread for 55 minutes. Do not open the oven for the first 30 minutes of baking.
• Remove the finished bread from the oven and place it on a board on one of its sides, so the air can circulate around it. Do not lay the bread flat. You may have to balance it in some manner. If you have one of those V-shaped racks used for roasting poultry, you can balance the bread in it for cooling. The bread must cool at least three hours before it is cut or broken for eating.