Biga:
1 ts Yeast
1 1/8 c Warm water
2 c Bread flour
Dough:
Biga (above )
1 1/4 c Bread flour
1 1/2 ts Salt
1/4 c Water
Biga is a starter, almost similar to sourdough but not quite.The
bread has a flavorful, yeasty beery quality. So 10 to 12 hours before
you want the bread, mix the 1 tsp. yeast in the water and let it
bubble and foam. Mix in the flour gradually to make a soft almost
soupy dough. Cover and it will rise and triple in volume and then
fall back and re-rise during the 6 to 8 hours you let it be. Then
make the bread. Stir the salt right into the biga mixture, mix in the
additional water ( cold or cool not warm ) until it is a thin soupy
quality. Mix in the flour to make a firm but soft dough which leaves
the sides of the bowl. Turn out to a floured surface and knead dough,
adding additional flour if necessary to make a smooth dry dough.
Place dough in a bowl, greased with olive oil, cover and let rise
doubled about 2 hours. Punch dough down and knead it into a flat
oval. cut in half and form each half into a baguette and let them
rest covered with a towel for 30 minutes. then stretch them into
longer baguette shapes and place them in a baguette baking tray if
you have it. Let rest for 20 minutes. then slash tops and place into
a preheated 450 oven for 20 minutes or done. If you don’t have a
baguette tray any baking sheet or baking stone will do. You also
could shape the breads in one large round loaf instead of 2
baguettes. Bake the one large loaf 10 to 15 minutes longer. Note:
since this bread is fat free eat the same day or freeze as it stales
quickly.
Yields
1 Loaf