Cooking with Fire Episode 26: Bread, Part 1

Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson break down the history of bread from primitive Stone Age creations to the invention of sourdough starter and Chef Tom cooks up an Italian biga boule.

White Bread with 80% Biga Recipe

Ingredients

For the Biga:

• 800g AP unbleached white flour
• 544 g water (80°F)
• .64 g (3/16 tsp) instant dried yeast

For the Final Dough:

• 200 g AP unbleached white flour
• 206 g water (105°F)
• 22 g fine sea salt
• 2 g instant dried yeast

Instructions

To mix the biga, combine the flour and yeast in a 6 quart container and mix together by hand. Pour in the 80°F water and begin mixing by hand. Pinch the dough between your thumb and forefinger, then occasionally fold the dough over itself. It’s a good idea to have a container of water to dip your hand into to prevent the dough from sticking too much. Continue mixing until all the flour is hydrated (a few minutes). Cover the container with a lid and let sit out at room temperature overnight (12-14 hours).

The next morning the big should have tripled in size, have visible bubbles and smell like alcohol. At this point, working in a round 12 quart container, combine the ingredients for the final dough. Mix together by hand to incorporate all ingredients. Then, add the biga, and continue mixing like you did while mixing the biga the night before. Mix until all the biga and new dough are incorporated (a few minutes). Place a lid on the 12 quart container and let rest 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, give the dough it’s first fold. Wet your hand, then lift from the bottom of one side and stretch to the opposite side. Make a quarter turn of the container and continue doing this until it’s been folded on four sides. Then, flip the dough over, so the folds are on the bottom. Rest 30 minutes and repeat. Rest 30 minutes longer and fold a third time.

Let the dough continue to ferment another one to two hours after the final fold, until tripled in size. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide into two using a bench knife. Shape each half into a boule. Start this much the same way you performed the folds, stretching the dough from one edge to the other and rotating. Then, flip the dough over (seam side down). Cupping the far edge of the boule, pull toward yourself, allowing the boule to tighten as you pull. Rotate the boule and continue this motion until the boule is round and the top is tight. Place seam side down in a floured cane proofing basket, or a bowl lined with floured cloth. Cover with a towel and allow to proof for about an hour. You’ll know when the bread is ready to bake when you poke the dough about 1/2” in. It should spring back slowly and incompletely. If it springs right back, it’s not yet proofed. If it does not spring back, it’s over-proofed.

Preheat your grill or oven to 475°F. Also, preheat a cast iron dutch oven on a rack for at least 30 minutes.

Carefully, transfer the boule from the basket to the hot dutch oven. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the top is browned. Cover with a lid and continue baking another 15 minutes, until the bottom is browned as well. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

This recipe is adapted from Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish.