To those people interested in my recipe for wet doughs:
My apologies for not responding sooner. I have been away for a few
weeks. I posted my comments about kneading surfaces in the March 04
digest. Here is the recipe, gleaned from Suzanne Dunaway's No Need to
Knead, a highly recommended book.
Focaccia: Basic Dough for Flatbreads or Loaves
2 cups lukewarm water (85 to 95F)
2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour (I use KA's ap flour)
2 to 3 tsp. salt
2 to 3 tsp. olive oil (I don't use)
2 T chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
Kosher or sea salt
Measure the water into a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and
stir until dissolved. Stir in 2 cups of the flour and the salt and stir
briskly (with wooden spoon) until smooth, about 2 minutes. With a wooden
spoon, stir in the remaining 2 cups of flour (plus or minus, depending on
type of flour you are using) for about two minutes longer, just until the
dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and the flour is
incorporated. The dough will be fairly wet and tacky (sticky), but when it
pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a loose ball, you'll know
the dough has been stirred sufficiently. If it seems too sticky, stir in
an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour. (You will get to know how the dough
should look from experience.......you will get good results, even with
variations.)
Same day method: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise
in a warm place until doubled in volume, 30 to 40 minutes. Proceed with
the shaping instructions.
Overnight method (what I do): Cover the bowl (after dropping in a little
oil and turning the dough with the scraper noted in my March 04
instructions) and refrigerate overnight. The dough will rise in the refrig
and acquire flavor from the slower yeast action. Remove the dough 2 hours
before shaping and let stand, covered in a warm place. The dough will rise
for the second time. Proceed with the shaping instructions. (Comment: I
have found from creating many a loaf that all doughs, sweets included,
benefit from the refrig rise - they are far more cooperative for
shaping. I keep in refrig sometimes for two days, but beyond that, the
dough needs a bit more flour added to keep the yeast feeding on it.)
Suzanne has many shaping methods, but I will only go into what I do:
Remove dough from refrig. Leave out on counter for a couple of hours (more
or less, not fussy). Then with the kidney-shaped flexible plastic scraper
(noted in March 04 digest), hold bowl up, tilt sideways and scrape dough
out onto a piece of parchment on a half-sheet baking sheet. It flows out
like lava, ending up in a large spready oval. I then leave it out for a
while until it seems ready (varies, short time to hours - it is forgiving -
on the counter at room temperature); then dimple it with a floured finger,
then sprinkled with a little olive, spread out with my fingers or a brush,
then salted, then sprinkled with herbes de provence or oregano, or
rosemary, or whatever you choose, then into a 500F oven, turned down to
450F as soon as you put it in). I put the half-sheet right on a baking
stone on the bottom shelf of my gas-oven, bake for 25 minutes. Remove from
oven when light to medium browned - pick up with edges of parchment and
plop down (still with parchment) on a rack to cool. It is tempting to try
to cut while warm, but letting it cool completely is far better.
I mostly use a sourdough starter, about a cup stirred into the 2 cups of
lukewarm water after yeast has dissolved, but it is not necessary, just
gives a different flavor, more complex. But I don't want to get into the
starter method - this is a note for those who have a starter in their lives.
If there are any questions or confusion about this, please contact me.
Thank you for all for the tips and info posted on the list.
baking carol