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RUSTIC CRUSTY BREAD (POOLISH STARTER)
Poolish Starter
Ingredients
- 150ml water
- 150g bread flour
- 1/8 tsp instant yeast
Steps
- Mix together, cover with glad wrap and leave for 4-24 hours (double in volume and lots of bubbles)
Dough
Ingredients
- 250 ml water
- 2g instant yeast
- 350g bread flour
- 50g wholegrain wheat flour
- 10g salt
Steps
- Mix in machine (either food processor or mixer using the dough hook) all of the above plus the prepared poolish starter till dough is combined but will be kind of slack (kind of “loose” dough).
- Transfer into a big bowl and glad wrap, leave it for 30 mins.
- Wet hands, scoop dough, pull and fold dough for like 10 times.
- Next, do a “slap and fold” using your hand scoop dough from underneath turn a 90 deg and kind of tuck into a ball (do it like 6 or 7 times) just like shaping dough on countertop into a ball.
- Glad wrap, leave it for another 30 mins.
- Repeat the “slap and fold”, leave it for a further 1 hour.
- IMPORTANT TO NOTE: TO BE GENTLE WITH HANDLING THE DOUGH TO RETAIN THE AIR IN IT (FOR A LOOSE AND CHEWY TEXTURE BREAD)
- Shape dough (grab a side of dough, pull up & fold back, work all round, then grab opposing side do a criss cross tuck 3 or 4 times rotate to a tight ball) and place it on parchment paper that is generouly sprinkled with flour, proof it for a final 40 min.
- Preheat oven to 230 deg C, slit the top of dough & spray water on dough. Spray also some water in the oven just before putting in to bake for 1 hour. (or steam shot 3 min if oven has this feature).
- For a nice dome shape can proof in a deep bowl, then transfer to well foured tray lined with paper to bake.
Alternative baking (using dutch oven, [cast iron pot])
- Preheat pot at 230 deg C for half an hour. (Step 9)
- Remove pot from oven and lower in the proofed ready dough, then slit the top (easier if dough is placed on a parchment paper to lower in)
- Cover the pot and bake for 15 min. (this helps to keep the moisture instead of spraying water -> to get a crusty bread)
- Lower temp to 200 deg C, remove the cover and bake a further 25-35 min
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