Mike's Sourdough Olive Bread
Source of Recipe
Amberlyn
Recipe Introduction
I have long used another culture, the 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough...
it is still available from Carl's friends for the cost of postage (it
comes dry, ready to rehydrate): http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/.
This is the culture I use to make sourdough baguettes... this
culture, used with King Arthurs Bread Flour, makes a wonderfully
chewy bread with a great crust. I have made it into a loaf cooked in
a perforated rye pan; I have baked it on a pizza stone, free-form,
and often make small baguettes for dinners. The following is one of
our favorite fancier recipes...
This bread is absolutely delightful when it's fresh, so don't let it
sit around long (not that there's much danger of that!.) The recipe
makes 2 nice sized loaves. It uses a mixer, and is a full load for a
K45 or K5 class Kitchenaid. (Or - don't double it in your
KitchenAid!) The recipe takes about a day, if your starter is active
and ready.
Recipe Link: http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/. 14 oz. cold water
10 oz sourdough starter
1 lb. 10 oz. bread flour
1 T. fine sea salt
1 1/2 C pitted kalamata olives (I prefer them chopped)
2 t. chili flakes (Mike says, "I use chili pequin flakes")
2 T. chopped fresh rosemary
(OR, do as I do and use 1 Tbsp thyme and the zest of one lemon
instead of the chili and rosemary.)
Combine water and starter in mixing bowl and mix to break up starter.
Add flour and water until mix comes together but does not clear sides
of bowl (4-5 minutes). Cover dough with plastic wrap and let sit 20 minutes.
Remove wrap and add the salt. Mix well on low speed for 2 minutes.
Turn mixer speed to medium and mix 6-8 minutes more until dough snaps
back quickly. (Dough temperature should be between 68-74 degrees F).
Add in remaining ingredients to blend. (Some people think the chili
pepper and rosemary are optional. I think they are an essential part
of the flavor balance of the bread. Even if you're a total wuss when
it comes to spicy foods, give the chili pepper and rosemary a try.)
Cover dough and let ferment at room temperature until not quite
doubled. Punch dough down, divide in half, and shape gently into two
balls. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Form into rounds, or batards
and place on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet (or use willow baskets)
and cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator
and chill 12-18 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Let bread dough come to room
temperature - 2 to 3 hours. Uncover loaf, remove from baskets if
using and slash a decorative pattern on top. Spray oven with water
and close door quickly. Open door and place bread inside and spray
again. Let bake 3 minutes and spray again. Repeat spraying 2 more
times then let bread bake for 10 minutes undisturbed. Lower oven
temperature to 400 degrees F. and bake until deep golden brown and
loaf temperature registers 190 degrees F. (Please note, that
temperature is for my kitchen at 7,703 feet above sea level. Below
5,000 feet, I'd shoot for 205F.)
Mike's Notes:
A while back I noticed my local baker sells an olive loaf. I tried
it, and quickly found mine was MUCH better. When I made the bread
this past weekend, it dawned on me that I was spending more on the
olives than he charged for his loaf of bread. Sometimes, we forget
how easy it is for home bakers to out-do many professionals. It's
also easy to forget why we out-do them. In the time we lavish on two
loaves, the professional has to turn out hundreds of loaves.... and
money is another issue.
We all have an innate desire to save money. So, I thought I'd save a
couple of bucks by getting plain California black olives instead of
the much more expensive Kalmata olives. If you'd never had the bread
with the Kalmata olives, you'd have been delighted with the bread.
But, the Kalmata olives added a depth of color and - more importantly
- taste that the plain black olives didn't begin to approach. With
the black olives we said, "nice bread". With the Kalmata olives, our
toes curled with delight. So.... feel free to cut corners, but
remember, the corner you are cutting is likely to be your delight.
|
|
member logon
