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Photo by Jerry Ruotolo

Managing Oven Space:
The baking directions for the five recipes shown here suggest that you bake 2 of the Rustic Italian Loaves on a preheated baking stone and the remaining breads on baking sheets lined with parchment paper that has been generously sprinkled with cornmeal on a rack directly below the baking stone. If you have 2 ovens, (heaven for avid bakers!) preheat both ovens to 475° and bake the breads separately to allow better air circulation.

Photo by Jerry Ruotolo

About Baking Stones:
Using a baking stone helps to create a browner, crustier loaf, but if you don't have one, simply bake the bread on a sheet pan. To order baking stones and peels, as well as reliable yeast and flour, razor blades, and more, contact King Arthur Flour at (800) 827-6863; they will ship anywhere in the country.

NOTE: All the breads (except the focaccia and breadsticks, which would brown too much and become too crisp) can be baked directly on a baking stone rather than on baking sheets, space permitting. Select a rectangular baking stone for better space management.

Photo by Jerry Ruotolo

The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana
JULY-AUGUST, 2001
By Amy Scherber

Get the Recipes!
Rustic Italian Bread
Prosciutto-Pepper Loaf
Olive Bread
Tomato Focaccia
Sesame Breadsticks
Biga

I love to bake bread—that's why I opened my first bakery, Amy's Bread, in Manhattan 9 years ago. When I'm not managing operations or handling business decisions and I have the chance to get my hands in dough, I usually bake a Rustic Italian Bread. It's such a simple and delicious bread, and it satisfies all my goals as a baker. The dough is soft and sticky, so it is challenging to knead, but it provides great tactile pleasure. The ingredients are the simplest available: unbleached flour, water, yeast, and salt. That means that when they are handled well, they express the baker's skill and technique. These same ingredients are used by traditional bakers around the world to make an infinite variety of breads. Whether you are making ciabatta, baguettes, or a white pan loaf, it is the method of combining these four basic ingredients that makes all the difference in the final result.

Baking Rustic Italian Bread is not only fun: it provides visual pleasure too. Its bumpy, striated surface is golden brown and crispy. It's not easy to get a gorgeous brown crust in your home oven, but by spraying plenty of water from a plant mister around the sides of your oven, you can simulate the steam injection of a large bakery oven. That's what I do when I bake bread at home. But best of all, the fragrance of bread baking is intoxicating, and the taste is toasty, wheaty, and delicious.

The recipe for Rustic Italian Bread that follows is one I have perfected after years and years of baking. The dough is so versatile that it can be turned into many other breads as well; once you make the master dough, you can add pitted oil-cured olives to create Olive Bread, or fold in chopped Prosciutto and freshly ground black pepper for a savory Prosciutto-Pepper Loaf. You can flatten the dough, then top it with tomatoes, herbs, and olive oil, and you have a simple, succulent Tomato Focaccia. My personal favorite is to stretch the dough into a rectangle, coat it with lots of sesame seeds and a bit of coarse sea salt, and bake Sesame Breadsticks. If I ever leave sesame breadsticks on a cooling rack in the bakery, they disappear mysteriously. More than any other bread in my repertoire, they have secret admirers!

Being a bread baker is hard work, but it is tremendously satisfying. Making something with your hands that looks beautiful and tastes good is immensely gratifying. As an artisan baker, I am proud to carry on the traditions of bakers around the world who have passed on their techniques from one generation to the next. When I stay up all night baking, I feel a kinship with bakers in far-away places who, like me, are peeling golden, crackling, fragrant loaves from their ovens, eager for that first bite.

AMY'S RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD
Yield: Makes 3 loaves

		For the sponge starter:
1 1/2		cups very warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/4		teaspoon active dry yeast
3		cups unbleached all-purpose flour
		For the dough:
3/4		teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2		cup very warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1		cup cool water (75 degrees)
1 1/2		cups sponge starter (see above)
3 1/2		cups unbleached bread flour
1		tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1		Make the sponge starter: Stir all ingredients in a medium bowl vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until a smooth, somewhat elastic dough has formed. The sponge dough will be slightly stiff.
2		Scrape the sponge into a glass or plastic bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Mark the height of the starter and the time on the side of the container so you can see how much it rises. At this point you have two options: If you plan to make your dough later that same day, let the sponge rest at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it looks very bubbly and is beginning to get little folds on top but has not begun to sin. This may take 5 to 8 hours, depending on temperature. Ti will triple in volume: use it before it collapses too much. If you're not planning to make dough right away, put the covered sponge in the refrigerator and let it rise there for at least 12 hours before taking it out to use in a recipe. (If you are using refrigerated sponge, use warm water—85 to 90 degrees—instead of the cool water specified. Or let it sit out, covered, until it reaches room temperature—this may take several hours—but don't let it collapse before using it.)
3		To make the bread dough: Combine the yeast and the warm water in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add the cool water and sponge to the yeast mixture and mix with your fingers for about 2 minutes. (1) The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy. Add the flour and salt, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the ingredients together until the dough gathers into a mass. It will be wet and sticky, with long stands of dough hanging from you fingers. If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.
4		Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until it becomes supple and fairly smooth. This is a sticky, wet dough; don't be tempted to add more flour to the work surface. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes, covered with oiled plastic wrap. Knead the dough again for 5 to 7 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth, yet still slightly sticky. (2) Shape the dough into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until the dough looks slightly puffy but has not doubled. Give the dough a turn by folding it in half, then in half again, and then turning it over. Place it back in the bowl and cover tightly again. Let the dough rise for 45 minutes at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume.
5		Flour a work surface well and gently push the dough onto it. Pat the dough into a rectangle and cut it into three equal rectangular pieces, so that the short side of the beginning rectangle of dough becomes the long side of each loaf. (3) Cover the work surface with a thick layer of flour and place each loaf, top side down, on the flour. The loaves will be loose and slightly irregular in shape. Cover the loves with well-oiled plastic and let them rise for about 35 to 45 minutes.
6		Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat and position an oven rack just below the stone. (If you don't have a stone, simply place the rack in the middle of the oven.) Line a 13-by-18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle generously with cornmeal. Lift one loaf, gently turn it over so the floured side is on top, and place the loaf on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining loaves. Gently poke each loaf with your finger in about 3 places, but don't deflate them too much. Place the pan of bread on the oven rack. Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves with water 8 to 10 times, then quickly shut the oven door. Mist the loaves again after 1 minutes. Then mist again 1 minute later. Bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 450 degrees and bake 15-20 minutes longer or until the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom and the crust is a medium to dark brown. (If the crust is not brown enough, the loaves will soften as then cool.) Transfer the bread to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

For Prosciutto-Pepper Loaf: Take 1/4 of the dough (see recipe on page 46), flatten it gently into a wide disk on a floured counter, sprinkle it evenly with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, then spread a generous 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of finely chopped Prosciutto (preferably San Daniele or Parma) onto it, covering the entire surface of the dough evenly. Using the palm of your hand, press the Prosciutto onto the dough so that it sticks. Fold the dough in thirds like a business letter. Roll the dough into a short log; the short side of the rectangle of dough will form the length of the loaf. Seal the seam with the heel of your hand. Let the loaf rise on a lightly floured cloth for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until almost doubled in volume. Score the loaf with 3 short cuts with a razor blade (or, lacking that, with a very sharp serrated knife). Line an upside-down baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle it generously with cornmeal. Place the loaf on the parchment paper and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated 475° on the rack below the baking stone as described on page 46, misting the loaf 3 times during the first 3 minutes as described to encourage crisping.

For Olive Bread: Take 1/4 of the dough, flatten gently into a wide disk on a floured counter, and spread a generous 1/2 cup (31/2 ounces) of roughly chopped, pitted, oil-cured black olives such as Gaeta onto the dough, covering the entire surface evenly. Fold the dough in thirds like a business letter. Working from left to right, roll it into a long cylinder, sealing the seam with the heel of your hand. This loaf is narrow and long with olives throughout. Let the loaf rise on a lightly floured cloth for 1 hour, or until it is almost doubled in volume. Score the loaf gently with a razor blade (or, lacking that, with a sharp serrated knife), making a long line down the middle. Place the loaf on the parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated 475° oven on the rack below the baking stone as described on page 46, misting 3 times during the first 3 minutes of baking to encourage crisping. Let the loaf cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before digging in; eating very hot bread can cause stomach discomfort as the bread continues to "bake" in your belly.

For Tomato Focaccia: Take 1/3 of the dough and shape it loosely into a disk. Place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet and pat it to flatten it slightly. Cover with well-oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for about 45 minutes. Slice 2 ripe red and 2 ripe yellow tomatoes, and place them in an attractive pattern on top of the dough. Push them into the dough slightly, but be careful not to deflate the dough. If you are using rosemary, poke 8 to 12 small sprigs around the surface. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt and drizzle with 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil. Let rise for 10 minutes, dimple with your fingers in 10 places to keep the focaccia from doming (rising crazily) in the oven, then bake in the preheated 475° oven on the rack below the baking stone for 25 to 30 minutes, misting 3 times during the first 3 minutes. If you are using basil rather than rosemary, wash 12 basil leaves, stack them, and cut them into very thin strips. Sprinkle them over the surface of the focaccia after it has been baked and cooled slightly to prevent the basil from darkening.

For Sesame Breadsticks: Scatter 1 cup of unhulled sesame seeds (available in health food stores) and 2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt on a rectangular baking sheet with edges. Cut 1/3 of the dough into a neat rectangle and place it on an unfloured surface. Mist with water. Place the moist side of the dough on the seeds and salt, and press gently to help them stick to the dough. Mist the other side of the dough and flip onto the seeds and salt to coat completely. Make sure the surface of the dough is entirely coated with seeds and salt. Place the seeded dough on the work surface (which is still unfloured) and cut into 18 even sticks with a pastry cutter. Place the breadsticks on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 1/2" of space between each breadstick. Stretch the breadsticks a bit if you like crispier sticks. Let rise for 10 minutes, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated 475° oven on the rack below the baking stone as described on page 46, misting 3 times during the first 3 minutes of baking. Bread sticks can be eaten immediately.

Biga: Biga is a yeasted starter, the equivalent of France's poolish. Don't be scared off by making a starter: it takes less than 5 minutes and adds so much character to bread. The crust will be crunchier, the crumb moister, and the bread more flavorful-plus, the bread will have a longer shelf life. To make it easier to get the biga starter out of the measuring cup, oil the inside of the cup lightly; that way the starter will slip right out of the cup. The recipe below yields 28 ounces of starter, enough for 1 recipe of Rustic Italian Bread.

1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 cups (14 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
Dissolve the yeast in 13/4 cups (14 ounces) of very warm water (105° to 115°) in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or your hand for 2 to 3 minutes, or until a smooth, somewhat elastic dough has formed. The starter will be thick and stretchy. It will be softer and more elastic after it has risen. Scrape the starter into a clear container with high sides and cover with plastic film. Mark the height of the starter and the time on a piece of tape on the side of the container so you can see how much it rises.

At this point you have two options. If you plan to make the dough later the same day, let the starter rise at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to indent on top; this may take 6 to 8 hours. It will triple in volume and very small dents and folds will begin to appear in the top of the surface as it reaches its peak and begins to deflate. It is important that you use the starter before it sinks too much.

If you are not planning to make the dough until the following day, let the starter rise for 1 hour after mixing it, then place it in the refrigerator and let it rise there for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use as described in the recipe. Compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water (85° to 90°) instead of the cool water specified in the recipe when mixing the Biga into the dough. Or let the starter sit out, covered, until it reaches room temperature (this may take several hours). Then mix the dough, let it rise, shape it, bake it, and enjoy! .

Want more recipes? Get the Amy's Bread Cookbook!