Basic Bread Sponge From Amy Recipes

AMY'S CRUSTY ITALIAN LOAF

Steps:

• Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes.
• Add the cool water and sponge starter to the yeast mixture and mix with your fingers for about 2 minutes, breaking up the sponge. The mixture should look milky and slightly foamy.
• Add the flour and salt and mix with your fingers to incorporate the flour, 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 strands of dough hanging from your fingers. If the dough is not sticky, add 1 tablespoon of water.
• 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. Just dust lightly and use a dough scraper as necessary to loosen the dough from the table during kneading. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes, covered with oiled plastic wrap. (This rest period is the autolyse.)
• Knead the dough 3 to 5 minutes, until it is stretchy and smooth, yet still slightly sticky. 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 (75 to 77 degrees) for about 1 hour, or until the dough looks slightly puffy but has not doubled.
• Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or preferably, overnight to let it relax, develop flavor, and become more manageable.
• Take the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until it begins to warm up and starts to rise.
• Flour a work surface well and gently dump the dough onto it. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, about 13 ounces each. Gently flatten one piece, pressing out some of the air bubbles, and stretch it into a rectangle. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up as if you were folding a business letter. Now form the loaf into a short baguette by rolling the dough over from left to right and sealing the seam with the heel of your palm. Fold the dough over about 1/ 3 of the way each time, seal the length of the loaf, then repeat. You want to gently draw the skin tight over the surface of the loaf while leaving some air bubbles in the dough.
• Seal the seam, being careful not to tear the skin of the dough or deflate its airy structure. Do not elongate. These loaves are about 10 inches long. Cover an area on the work surface with a thick layer of flour and place the loaf, seam side down, on the flour. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. The loaves will be loose and slightly irregular in shape. Leave plenty of space between the loaves they will spread as they rise. Cover the loaves with well oiled plastic and let them rise for 1 to 2 hours, until bubbly and loose.
• 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.
• Sprinkle a peel very generously with cornmeal. Line an upsidedown baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle very generously with cornmeal. Lift one loaf, flip it over so the floured side is on top, and gently tug on the ends to stretch the loaf to the full length of the peel, or about 14 inches on a pan. Repeat with the remaining loaves, placing 2 on the peel and 1 on the pan. Dimple each loaf with your finger in about 6 places, but don't deflate them too much. Be sure the loaves are loosened from the peel, then carefully slide them onto the baking stone. Place the pan of bread on the rack below the stone. Using a plant sprayer, quickly mist the loaves with water 8 to 10 times, then quickly shut oven door. Mist the loaves again after 1 minute. Then mist again 1 minute later.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 450 degrees and bake 15 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 they cool.) Transfer the bread to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
• Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes until a smooth, somewhat elastic batter has formed. The batter will be very stiff; it gets softer and more elastic after it has proofed. You may find it easier to mix the sponge using an electric mixer, with a paddle or a dough hook, on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the sponge into a 2-quart clear plastic container and cover with plastic wrap. 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 just begins to collapse. This may take 6 to 8 hours, depending on the temperature of the room and the strength of the yeast. The sponge will triple in volume and small dents will begin to appear in the top as it reaches its peak and then begins to deflate. The sponge is now in perfect condition to be used in a dough. It's best if you have already weighted or measured out all of your other recipe ingredients before the sponge reaches this point so you can use it before it collapses too much.
• If you're not planning to make your dough until the next day or the day after, put the covered sponge in the refrigerator and let it rise there for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use in a recipe. Be sure to compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water (85 degrees to 90 degrees F) in the dough instead of the cool water specified in the bread recipe. Or let the starter sit out, covered until it reaches room temperature (this may take several hours), but don't let it collapse too much before you use it.
• Yield: 28 ounces

BASIC BREAD SPONGE FROM AMY

Steps:

• Whisk the yeast into the water. Allow to sit for about three minutes. Add the flour, mixing for another three minutes. Place in a nonreactive bowl and cover. Allow to sit in a draft-free spot until it rises and gets thick and sticky. This will take about eight hours.
• Use a spoon to stir the sponge down before measuring for use in a bread.
• Once risen, refrigerate for up to three days. Allow to come to room temperature before using. If it goes beyond three days, discard all but 1 cup of the sponge and make the recipe, adding the reserved sponge with the flour. Stir for two or three minutes before using.
• For all of the breads based upon this sponge, allow two days since the doughs require overnight refrigeration.
• For the best results, use as little of the kneading flour as possible.
• To allow yourself to slide the loaves into the oven, form them on a baking sheet without sides or on the bottom of one with sides that is turned upside-down.
• If you do not have a stone or tiles, bake directly on the baking sheet(s) upon which you formed the loaves (be sure to use either cornmeal or parchment between the dough and the sheet).
• All of the breads based upon the sponge can be frozen for up to two weeks. Don't freeze until the bread has cooled thoroughly - then wrap in foil and freeze. When ready to use, thaw them, still wrapped, at room temperature overnight. Then, unwrap and warm at 350 degrees for 5 or 10 minutes. Alternatively, you could warm the frozen and wrapped loaves at 300 for 35 to 40 minutes.

SPONGE STARTER

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until a smooth, somewhat elastic batter has formed. The batter will be very stiff; it gets softer and more elastic after it has proofed. You may find it easier to mix the sponge using an electric mixer, with a paddle or a dough hook, on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the sponge into a 2-quart clear plastic container and cover with plastic wrap. 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 just begins to collapse. This may take 6 to 8 hours, depending on the temperature of the room and the strength of the yeast. The sponge will triple in volume and small dents will begin to appear in the top as it reaches its peak and then begins to deflate. The sponge is now in perfect condition to be used in a dough. It's best if you have already weighted or measured out all of your other recipe ingredients before the sponge reaches this point so you can use it before it collapses too much.
• If you're not planning to make your dough until the next day or the day after, put the covered sponge in the refrigerator and let it rise there for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use in a recipe. Be sure to compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water (85 degrees to 90 degrees F) in the dough instead of the cool water specified in the recipe. Or let the starter sit out, covered, until it reaches room temperature (this may take several hours) But don't let it collapse too much before you use it.

SPONGE STARTER

Steps:

• Place the yeast and warm water into a medium size bowl and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or your hand for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth, and dough is elastic. The starter will be thick and stretchy. It will become more elastic after it has risen.
• Scrape the starter into a clear container with high sides, and cover with plastic wrap. Mark the height of the starter and the time on a piece of tape on the side of the container so you can see how much it rises.
• At this point, you have two options. If you plan on making the dough the same day, let the sponge rise at room temperature until it has risen to the point where it just begins to indent on top. This may take 6 to 8 hours. It will triple in volume, and very small dents and folds will begin to appear in the top of the surface as it reaches its peak and begins to deflate. Use it before it sinks too much.
• If you plan to make the dough the following day, let the sponge rise for 1 hour after mixing, then place it in the refrigerator and let it rise for at least 14 hours before taking it out to use. Be sure to compensate for the cold temperature of the starter by using warm water in the dough. Let it sit out, covered, until it reaches room temperature. This may take several hours.

RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD (SPONGE METHOD)

Steps:

• 1. About 4 hours before you want to bake the bread, make the sponge (starter). Place all the ingredients for the sponge in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Let sit about 2 hours. It should be quite bubbly.
• 2. After the sponge has processed, start adding the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle the 1 1/4 tsp yeast on top of the sponge. Then sprinkle (most) of the 2 cups Bread Flour. (hold back several Tbsp of the flour to incorporate as needed). Add the liquid mix of Olive Oil and Warm Water. Mix as well as you can with a large spoon. Working in the bowl, use hands to bring the dough together. This will take a few minutes. Continue kneading in the bowl, or transfer to a board to knead a few more minutes, incorporating some (or all) of the reserved flour. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
• 3. Place the dough in a clean bowl and coat the dough ball with little Olive Oil. Cover with lid or plastic until doubled. If you have used the right temp of warm water this should happen rather quickly....in approximately an hour, give or take.
• 4. When the dough has doubled, punch down and knead for a minute or so. Use hands to form a nicely shaped ball.
• 5. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 5 qt. Dutch Oven. Sprinkle some flour on top of parchment. Place dough ball, centered, on floured parchment. Make three slits on top of dough, not too deep. I do this with scissors. Sprinkle some flour on top of dough. Cover with lid or plastic until doubled. That should take just a little less than an hour.
• 6. This bread is baked by starting in a cold oven. The oven should not pre-heat.
• 7. When bread is ready to bake, place lid on Dutch Oven and place in a cold oven in the lower 1/3 of oven. For non-black pot, turn oven on to 450 degrees. For cast iron, turn oven on to 425 degrees. Set the timer to bake 65 minutes.
• 8. At 55 minutes, remove lid from Dutch Oven. Continue baking, uncovered for the remaining 10 minutes.
• 9. Remove bread from oven. Plop loaf out onto a rack. Thump the bottom of loaf. It should sound hollow. If so, place top up on rack to cool thoroughly before slicing, about 1 1/2 hours. If the loaf does not sound hollow, you may finish it up by placing it back in the oven for several more minutes, baking directly on the oven rack (no pan).