Dear Mr. Laurence:
Thanks for the compliments about my book. I think the photos are also very
important--instructional and inspirational. Ben Fink did a wonderful job
with them. The photo you are referring to on page XI is from Sullivan
Street Bakery in New York, and unfortunately I do not have an exact formula
for it in my book. I honestly don't remember its name either. But to me
it just looks like a batard.
What I know about production at Sullivan Street, at least circa 1998, is
that they used King Arthur flour, always added a lot of water in the dough,
and mixed their doughs for a surprisingly long time.
The "secret" to huge holes, properly called alveolage, is a well mixed
dough, a long, thorough fermentation, preferably with a few turns early on,
skillful, tight shaping (the hardest part for most home bakers, especially
if you haven't taken any classes with a knowledgeable artisan baker), an
adequate proof--the dough should be very soft and yielding when pressed,
almost collapsing (but it will not if the dough was properly mixed and
shaped), an angled cut (30 degrees) with a single sided razor, and a hot
baking stone to bake on. That's kind of a tall order, but worth aspiring to.
To replicate this bread, I would start with Sullivan Street's pizza dough
on page 158 and shape it like a batard, as I described on page 35. If the
dough is just too wet and spreads out flat during baking (it has 109%
water!), try cutting back on the water next time, maybe down to 90%?, and
see if you get more height.
We are on vacation until August 15, but I would love to hear from you, or
anyone else who has tried this, after that.
All the best,
Maggie