Pane Toscano O Pane Sciocco-saltless Tuscan Bread

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

From The Italian Baker by Carol Field  Some cookbook authors insist a
bread made without salt could only be  flat and insipid, but the
Tuscans have been making this saltless  bread for many centuries. . .
The big flat rounds scored in  tac-tac-toe patterns or the smaller
crusty ovals of bread are  sometimes rough and somewhat coarse,
sometimes more compact inside,  but they are always mellow and bland.
One explanation of the saltless bread is that the Tuscans, well known
for being tightfisted, couldn't bear to pay the government salt tax
and chose instead to make bread without it.  Perhaps, but gastronomes
point out that the Tuscan bread is perfectly suited to their cuisine,
which is full of strong flavors. . .  Makes 1 large ruota or wheel, or
2 oval loaves.  STARTER: Stir the yeast into the water in a small bowl;
let stand  until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir with
about 100  strokes of a wooden spoon, or stir with the paddle of an
electric  mixer for about 1 minute.  Cover with plastic wrap and let
rise until  tripled, 6 hours to overnight.  DOUGH: BY HAND: Stir the
yeast into the warm water in a large bowl;  let stand until creamy,
about 10 minutes. Add the starter and 1 cup  water and mix well,
squeezing the starter between your fingers to  break it up. Beat in the
flour, 1 cup at a time, and continue beating  until the dough is
thoroughly mixed, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Stir in  the salt, if desired,
in the last minutes.  Turn out onto a  well-floured surface and knead,
using a dough scraper to begin with,  until elastic, resilient, and
some- what velvety, 8 to 10 minutes.  BY MIXER:  Stir the yeast into
the warm water in a small bowl; let  stand until creamy, 10 minutes.
Add the dissolved yeast and 1 cup  water to the starter in a large
mixer bowl and mix with the paddle.  Beat in the flour and continue
beating until thoroughly mixed, 1 to 2  minutes.  Add the salt, if
desired, and beat 1 more minute.  Change  to the dough hook and knead
until the dough is elastic, resilient,  and somewhat velvety, about 4
minutes.  Finish kneading by hand on a  floured surface.  BY PROCESSOR:
If the capacity of your food processor is 7 cups or  less, process this
dough in 2 batches.  Refrigerate the starter until  cold. Stir the
yeast into the warm water; let stand until creamy,  about 10 minutes.
Process the dissolved yeast, cold starter, and 1  cup cold water with
the steel blade to the consistency of lumpy  pancake batter. Pour the
mixture into another container and change to  the dough blade without
cleaning the bowl.  Add the flour and salt,  if desired, to the bowl
and process with 2 or 3 pulses to sift.  With  the machine running,
pour the starter mixture through the feed tube  as quickly as the flour
can absorb it and process until the dough  gathers into a ball.
Process 20 seconds longer to knead. Don't worry  if the dough never
truly forms a ball, but it should hold its shape  and not ooze.  Finish
kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface  until elastic,
resilient, and somewhat velvety.  First Rise.  Place the dough in an
oiled bowl, cover with plastic  wrap, and let rise until doubled, about
1 hour.  Shaping and Second Rise.  Turn the dough out onto a floured
surface  and lightly dust the top with flour.  The dough will be very
moist  and soft, but don't punch it down.  Flatten it with your hands
and  shape into a large flat round loaf, or cut it in half and shape
each  half into an oval. Place on a well-floured baking sheet or peel
and  gently turn the loaf over to collect some of the flour onto its
surface.  Turn it again, smooth side up, cover with a towel, and let
rise until doubled, 45 minutes to 1-1/4 hours.  Baking:  Thirty minutes
before baking, heat the oven with a baking  stone in it to 450 degrees
F.  If you have shaped the dough into a  single large wheel, score a
tic-tac-toe pattern on top with a razor  or sharp bread knife.  Just
before baking, sprinkle the stone with  cornmeal and slide the loaf
into it.  Bake 15 minutes.  Reduce the  heat to 400 degrees F., and
bake 20 minutes for the smaller ovals and  25 to 30 minutes for the
large _ruota._  Cool on a rack.  >From: Don Jorgensen
<donj@u.washington.edu> From: Bread-Bakers  Archives:
ftp.best.com/pub/reggie/archives/bread/recipe

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 3580
Calories From Fat: 91
Total Fat: 10.8g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 337.6mg
Potassium: 1163.9mg
Carbohydrates: 749.3g
Fiber: 29.4g
Sugar: 2.8g
Protein: 102.8g