Sponge Dough Recipes

4-INGREDIENT SPONGE CAKE (VIDEO RECIPE)

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottoms of two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper (do not grease the sides).
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment (this is the one I have), beat 6 large eggs for 1 minute on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating 8-10 minutes until thick and fluffy.
• Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift this mixture into fluffy egg mixture one third at a time. Fold with a spatula with each addition just until incorporated. Scrape spatula from the bottom to catch any pockets of flour and stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain. Do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter.
• Divide evenly between prepared cake pans (it helps if you have a kitchen scale to weight the pans). Bake at 350˚F for 23-28 minutes (my oven took 25 min), or until top is golden brown. Remove from pan by sliding a thin spatula (here's the one I love for cakes) around the edges then transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. Cool cakes to room temperature then slice layers equally in half with a serrated knife.

SPONGE DOUGH

Steps:

• Prepare dough sponge and proof yeast by mixing yeast, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water with 1/2 teaspoons honey dissolved in the water in a bowl and letting stand for 20 minutes until mixture is foamy. (Throw out and start over with fresher yeast if not foamy.)
• Mix 1/2 of remaining flour with salt, remaining water with remaining honey dissolved in it, olive oil, and dough sponge. Mix in remaining flour (dough should be slightly sticky and not dry). Knead 15 minutes on a floured surface (10 minutes in a machine) until smooth. Use following Rise Method I or II:
• Rise Method I (normal): Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours) in a warm place. Punch dough down and divide in half. Dust dough portions with flour and put in ziploc bags in the freezer for 30 minutes (stops rising) and then move to refrigerator until ready to use.
• Rise Method II (refrigerator): Divide dough in half. Dust dough portions with flour and put in ziploc bags in the refrigerator for two days.
• Remove dough portion from refrigerator when ready to shape into crust. Punch down dough thoroughly and spread/stretch dough portion by hand and roller on a greased pizza pan. Move dough crust to pizza peel spread with coarse cornmeal or to pizza screen. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake in preheated 500° F oven directly on the pizza stone for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 2-3 minutes on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

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).