Sage Bread With Green Olives (pane Alla Salvia Con Olive)

-SPONGE-
2 c Plus 1 tb. all-purpose flour 2 c ;Lukewarm or hot water
2 oz Fresh compressed yeast or — depending on the yeast
4 pk Active dry yeast 1 pn Salt

Note: The sponge for this bread must be prepared the night before
you are planning to bake it. If fresh sage leaves are not available,
substitute leaves preserved in salt.

To make the sponge, place 2 cups of the flour in a large bowl and
make a well in the center.

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water, stirring with a
wooden spoon. Put the dissolved yeast and a pinch of salt in the
well and mix in gradually with a wooden spoon until all the flour is
incorporated. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of flour, cover
the bowl with a cotton dish towel, and let it rest overnight in a
warm place away from any drafts.

The next morning, the sponge is ready. Before starting the bread,
pit the olives and cut them into 1/2″ pieces. Tear the sage leaves
into small pieces. Set aside.

Mound the flour on a pasta board, make a well in the center, and
place the sponge in the well. Add the lukewarm water, mixing
continuously with a wooden spoon and incorporating some of the flour
until the consistency is that of a thick batter. Add the salt,
pepper, olives and sage, then begin mixing with your hands, absorbing
the flour from the inside rim of the well little by little. Keep
mixing until all but 1 cup of flour is incorporated into the mound of
dough. Sift the unused flour to clean it, then start kneading the
dough with the palm of your hand, in a folding motion, until it is
homogenous and smooth (about 10 minutes), incorporating almost all
the flour. Shape the dough into a long loaf and place it on a floured
dish towel. Wrap the towel loosely around the loaf, put it in a warm
place away from drafts, and let it stand until doubled in size, about
1 hour.

Line the middle or bottom shelf of the oven with ovenproof unglazed
terra cotta tiles or a pizza stone. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

When the dough has doubled in size, quickly remove it from the towel
and immediately place it in the oven, directly on the tiles. Bake
the bread for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It is fully baked when
the crust is thick and the inside airy. The bread must cool for at
least 3 hours before slicing.

The authors write: “When he’s not crossing the United States teaching
Italian cooking or traveling through Italy doing research for one of
his books, Giuliano Bugialli lives in a gracious old apartment in the
heart of Florence. Once a convent, the apartment has belonged to his
family for years and is entered through two rooms that were part of
the convent’s guard tower. The spacious kitchen occasionally
accommodates his combination hands-on and demonstration classes that
attract professional chefs as well as amateur cooks.

“Giuliano first came to the United States as a language teacher, but
soon started cooking and giving lessons. ‘My teaching is not
nouvelle,’ he says. ‘That cooking is fake, more decoration than
cooking. Food should be for eating – otherwise why not buy a
painting? People in the United States think using herbs is exotic,
while in Italy it’s normal,’ he claims.

“Giuliano finds fault with people who rely exclusively on a favorite
herb. ‘You cannot assume the same herb will go well with fish, meat,
and vegetables. Otherwise you destroy the flavor rather than enhance
it,’ he says. ‘You must respect the idea that some herbs are strong,
others light.'”