To carb or not to carb...we vote carb, in moderation of course. Homemade eliminates all the words found on labels that no one can pronounce. Besides playing with dough is fun although, I would like to be rolling in dough (click the ads on the blog...hint hint :-))
Don't fear bread making. All you need are a few tools: timer, kitchen thermometer, kitchen scale and a mixer with a dough hook. Don't cook the yeast. Water should be 105 to 115 degrees. If it doesn't foam, you killed it so just toss it out and start again. I have murdered more then my share of yeast bits.
Pane Siciliano // Sicilian Bread
from Carol Field
The Italian Baker
2 1/2t active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1T olive oil
1t malt syrup
1 cup water room temperature
about 2 1/2 cups (350 grams) fine semolina flour
1 cup plus 1T (150 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
3T (10-15 grams) salt
1/3 cup sesame seeds
~ stir yeast into 1 1/4 cups warm water in a large mixing bowl
~ let stand until creamy about 10 minutes
~ stir in oil and malt with the paddle
~ add flour and salt and mix until smooth
~ change to dough hook and knead on medium speed until dough is firm, compact and elastic with lots of body (like playdough) 4 to 5 minutes
~ finish kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface
~ first rise place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until double about 1 1/2 hour
~ the dough should be springy and blistered but still soft and velvety
~ shaping and second rise punch the dough down and knead briefly
~ let it rest for 5 minutes
~ flatten it with your forearm into a square
~ roll it into a long, fairly narrow rope, bout 20 to 22 inches long
~ dough should be so elastic that it could almost be swung and stretched like a jump rope
~ cut the dough in half and shape each half into a loaf
~ roll the dough into a 1 1/2 inch thick rope then coil into a figure that looks like an inverted S
~ continue the coiling form each end until ends meet
~ place the loaves on a parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal
~ spray loaf with a misting of water and sprinkle with sesame seeds
~ pat seeds down very gently
~ spray plastic wrap with a light coating of vegetable oil spray and cover loaves
~ place a kitchen towel on top of plastic
~ let rise until doubled 1 to 1 1/2 hour
~ heat oven 425 degrees (if using a baking stone turn oven on 30 minutes before baking and sprinkle with cornmeal just before adding loaves)
~ bake 10 minutes and spray 3 times with water
~ reduce oven to 400 degrees and bake 25 to 30 minutes longer
~ cool on rakes
