Last weekend I decided to try making Pane Siciliano bread. It’s not an easy decision, as it is a three day process which involves overnight rising in the refrigerator, twice. On day one, I made the Pâte Fermentée, which was stored overnight to get some taste. The next day, the Pâte Fermentée was used as ingredient in the Pane Siciliano dough, which again, was set to rise overnight. The last day, I removed the dough to get room temperature, but something had gone wrong. The bread had not risen. Or maybe it had. It was hard to say. It was about 75% larger than the day before, but surely not doubled. Also, it had flattened out. This typically means there is not more rise to be had, so the only choice at that time was to bake it.
It tasted great, but came out a bit denser that I had hoped for, especially after three days in the making. We have used it to make a few sandwiches, such as Jamie’s Bruschetta Appetizer and Grilled Eggplant Crostini Appetizer.
Bread Recipe
This recipe originates from one of my favorite books on bread: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread
We use this book a lot when we bake, and it is a great source for beginners and advanced bread makers as it explains each step and process in great detail.
Pâte Fermentée
Pâte Fermentée is essentially a dough that has fermented overnight in the fridge. I can’t explain all the intricacies, but this gives it more flavors.
Don’t know if you are still reading your old comments, but…those breads look like they’d be fantastic for muffalettas, since the bread use for them is not thick and the density would support all the juices from the olive salad…think I’ll give this a try and hope for the same mistake 😉
BTW, I came here from Kate’s framedcooks.com.