Author Notes
Adapted Brinna's Pugliese Bread from "The Bread Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum (who credits it to Brinna Sands of King Arthur Flour) to baker's % for use with two dutch ovens per some of the techniques from Ken Foley's book, "Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt." The original recipe calls for kneading the dough in an electric mixer, and I've maintained that portion; this is not a no-knead bread.
Once the final mixing is done, I did add a couple of folds in the first hour of the bulk fermentation. Because of the large kernels of pumpernickel in this dough, I recommend handling it very gently when it comes to dividing and shaping the loaves, so that the pumpernickel doesn't slice the gluten sheets that will give the bread its loft.
Tools required: a stand (Kitchen Aid) mixer, bannetons for the final rise, a lame or sharp razor or knife for scoring the bread, and two 4qt. or slightly larger dutch ovens for baking. —Rebecca Zicarelli
Ingredients
- Biga
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200 grams
bread flour
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130 grams
pumpernickel flour (course rye)
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251 grams
water, tepid
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1/8 teaspoon
instant yeast
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
- Dough
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the biga from above
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520 grams
water, warm to the wrist (like a baby's bottle)
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670 grams
bread flour
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3/4 teaspoon
instant yeast
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20 grams
salt
Directions
- Biga
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combine all ingredients and mix well until a smooth dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
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Cover and let ferment in a cool place (below 65℉) for at least 12 and up to 24 hours. If you don't plan to use the biga after the initial fermentation, stir it down and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Dough
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Put the biga in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients except the salt, and stir on low until combined. Cover and let rest for at least 20 min. (Autolyse soak.)
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Sprinkle the salt over the dough, and mix with the dough hook on medium speed for 7 minutes.
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Lightly oil a large bowl. Turn the dough out into it, turning once, and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 30 min.
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First fold: uncover the dough, and wet your hand with cold water. Reach under the dough, pull up a third, stretch it out slightly, and fold it over the top. Give the bowl a quarter-turn, and repeat three more times. Recover the dough and let rest 20 min.
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Fold the dough one more time. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1.5 hours.
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Lightly flour your work surface. Turn the dough out onto it, lifting it once to resettle it into an even distribution. Spread a line of flour down the middle of the dough, marking the line where you'll divide it with a bench scraper. Divide the dough. Move one dough to the side. Gently spread out the other dough, and fold the corners up and over the center, brushing any loose; fold the second dough. Let them rest, seam-side up for a few minutes.
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Preheat the oven and dutch ovens at 450℉. Flour two bannetons. Turn the dough balls over, and round them until the skin is taut. Place the doughs the the bannetons, seam-side up. Place each banneton in a plastic bag (grocery-store vegetable bags work wonderfully), and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise until the dough is starting to crown above the basket.
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Gently turn the dough out onto a very-lightly floured board. Slash the top, and carefully place it in the preheated dutch oven. Put the covers on the dutch ovens (remember to use mitts!) and put them into the preheated oven. Bake for 30 min. Remove the covers and bake for an additional 20 to 25 min., until the dough is golden and the internal temp. of the dough has reached 190℉. Carefully remove from the baked bread from the ovens, and let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.
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