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The Daily News
NOVEMBER 15, 2000
By Rosemary Black

Autumn Loaves
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This rustic Italian bread is something like a ciabatta, except it has a thicker crust. It's delicious with pasta, or served with olive oil for dipping, and it makes great garlic toast. You could also slice this in half lengthwise and make it into sandwiches.

The loaf is a big seller in Amy Scherber's store, Amy's Bread.
"It's not that time-consuming to make," Scherber says. "This is a bread where, once you make the starter, which takes five minutes, the dough is easy to put together. And you end up with a very complex, interesting bread."

One tip: "You need to make the starter ahead of time, so plan ahead," says Scherber.

Points of Perfection:

When the recipe says "let rise at room temperature," this means 75-77 degrees
When you leave the loaves to rise, be sure there is plenty of space between the loaves.
This bread tastes best the first day but it makes great toast!

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.