Pete’s Version Of Italian Bakery Bread
Submitted by ancameni on August 14, 2010 at 1:17 pm

DESCRIPTION
One of my favorites!!!

SUMMARY
Yield 0 Source ibbibud File under ibbibud, pete

INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup of my dormant "regular" starter from the fridge. (Do NOT refresh it before using it here.)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 3 1/4 cups King Arthur AP flour
• 1/4 cup Italian Bread Improver consisting of:
• 2 TBSP potato flour
• 1 TBSP Baker's Special Dry Milk
• 1 TBSP King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

INSTRUCTIONS
In Pete's Own Words

Enjoy your bread with the filling(s) of your choice! It was especially good for making sandwiches using garden fresh tomatoes, sharp cheddar, and a lot of mayo! YUM! I have also enjoyed it with a heavy coating of butter, eating it alongside a steaming bowl of my savory, satisfying whole pea/bacon soup!

This bread is different from anything else I have ever made. The crust is crispy, and not chewy, like its French counterpart. The crumb has a combination of small to medium irregularly sized holes. It has a creamy color, is like cotton candy, and almost melts in your mouth! The flavor is very mild, but builds and changes to a complex and delightfully subtle sourdough taste!

Try some for yourself! It may be your "bread of choice" for all your future hoagie type sandwiches!

The Method

Remove one cup of starter from fridge and let it sit out on the counter to warm up for about an hour, until it's up to room temp. To this, add 1 cup AP flour and 1/3 cup water. Knead by hand for a minute or two and place in a covered bowl. Put this in fridge for 24 hours. (I have actually let it sit in the fridge for 32 hours, to work around my schedule, and it works just fine like this.)

Remove your preferment from fridge and let it sit out on the counter for about an hour, until it's up to room temp.

To your mixing bowl, add one cup (8 ounces) of your preferment, (Wrap and freeze the rest.) the butter and the water. Using the wire whisk, mix these ingredients well on speed 2 for a minute or two, or until there are no more lumps of starter present.

Switch to dough hook. Add remaining ingredients and knead for 10 minutes on speed 2. Drop dough hook and cover bowl. Let rest for 5 minutes. Put dough hook back on, and knead for 10 minutes more.

Remove dough hook, cover bowl, and let it rise for 1 hour. Then remove dough from bowl and weigh out two equal pieces. Bench these, covered, on a floured surface, for 5 minutes. Proceed with 'Bud's method of forming the loaves.

I placed the formed loaves on my perforated Italian/French bread pan. They took about 45 minutes to proof, so keep that in mind when planning a time to preheat your oven.

Place a cast iron pan in the bottom of your oven (mine is gas) and preheat to 500F. When ready, open door, and put your loaves in. Immediately and carefully, pour one cup of hot (or boiling) water into the pan, and quickly close the door. Reduce temperature to 450F.

After 10 minutes, rotate loaves 180 degrees. After 10 more minutes, a temperature check showed the internal temp of the loaves was at 200F. They were done! Remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool.

comments
Submitted by ibbibud on Tue, 2010-08-17 11:17.
Thanks for putting this in the recipe section!!
Submitted by barbarainnc on Mon, 2010-08-23 19:42.
I need the recipe you use for making the starter. There are many out there and I want the right one. Thanks for helping me out!!!
Submitted by Midnite Baker on Tue, 2010-10-19 02:15.
Just made this fabulous bread. The Italian Bread Improver sure made the taste of this bread awaken your taste buds. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I give it 5 stars.
Submitted by LeAnne R. on Tue, 2010-12-28 14:40.
Please post the recipe for the starter. Thank you.
Submitted by Midnite Baker on Fri, 2011-01-28 02:33.
Have made this bread several times & each time it comes out delicious. It is becoming a family favorite. The Italian Bread Improver truly makes this the over the top bread it is.
The "starter" for this recipe is just a sourdough starter. If you don't have one, check out http://www.kingarthurflour.com/sourdough/ Don't worry about the consistency of your starter.
Mine is thin like pancake batter. I don't take proper care of it and it still lives on in my frig. It separates into a very thick floury substance on the bottom of the jar and the other half is a dark water. When this happens, I just mix it back together. Use what I need for this recipe and replenish with 1 cup water mixed with 1 cup AP flour. Let it sit at room temp until bubbles are formed over the top, then it is back in the frig to be forgotten
until I need it again. Good luck with your starter.
Submitted by aprilcsanders on Tue, 2011-02-15 17:24.
What is Bud's method of forming the loaves?
Submitted by Midnite Baker on Fri, 2011-10-21 02:52.
Someone asked "What is Bud's method of forming the loaves?"
I don't know. Just form your loaf any way you want it. I've used a 9x5 bread pan, shaped into a boule(round), shaped into a batard(oval), made baguettes too. Your choice is endless.
Happy Baking, M.