ROSETTE SOFFIATE (soffiare: to blow like a balloon)
Recipe from Professor Fausto Rivola
THE BIGA
Ingredients Metric U.S.
Flour w360 * 5.0 kg 11 lbs
Water 2.25 kg 5 lbs
Yeast 0.05 kg 1.76 ounces
Total 7.3 kg 16 lbs
Procedure in the evening
Combine and knead all the ingredients on the table. Dough
temperature: 20C or 68F. Kneading time: 10 to 12 minutes. Put the
dough in a big bowl and let it rise at 18/20C or 64/68F for 20 hours.
THE DOUGH
Ingredients Metric U.S.
Biga 7.3 kg 16 lbs
Flour w360 * 1.0 kg 2.2 lbs
Natural improvers ** 0.06 kg 2.1 oz
Malt extract 0.03 kg 1.06 oz
Yeast 0.04 kg 1.41 oz
Water 0.87 kg 1.92 lbs
Salt 0.09 kg 3.2 oz
Total 9.39 kg 20.7 lbs
Procedure for the final dough
Put all the ingredients, except the salt, into the mixer bowl. Add
the salt 4 minutes before the end of the mixing (kneading). Mixing 5
minutes at first speed + 6 minutes at second speed. Dough temperature:
25C or 77F.
Let the dough rest on the table 10 minutes. Split the dough in the
desire size (circles of 25- 30 cm or 10 - 12 inches, will be cut in a
bun press in small rolls) and coat them with olive oil. Rest 30
minutes. Split, then stamp with the rosette stamp (stampa per
rosette) and turn the rosettes upside down, the stamp impression will
be under the dough. For proofing, put the dough at 30C or 86F for 60
to 70 minutes. Turn the dough so the stamp mark is up again and bake
at 240C or 475F with plenty of steam for 22 to 25 minutes. Put more
steam 5 minutes before the end. This recipe make more sense when you
look at the following pictures
Pictures of the process and an other recipe in Italian:
http://www.pianetapane.it/ricette-virtuali/ricetta_4.htm
*"00 FLOUR: "In Italy, flour is classified either as 1, 0, or 00, and
refers to how finely ground the flour is and how much of the bran and
germ have been removed. 00 flour is the most highly refined and is
talcum-powder soft. Italian 00 flour is made from Italian grains
and/or blends of Italian and imported grains (including Manitoba
flour from Canada) to achieve a range of protein of about 10-12.5%.
Common brands of 00 flour available at the retail level in the U.S.
include Caputo, Bel Aria and Delverde. The Vermont-based King Arthur
Flour Company produces a "clone" of the 00 flour (called
Italian-Style flour) with a protein level of 8.5% which is quite a
bit lower than the imported Italian 00 flours, therefore it is not an
authentic 00 flour and will have different behavioral
characteristics". Italian flours description at the following web
site: <http://www.molinoalimonti.it/inglese/prodottiforn.html>
** Natural improvers: I think this similar to what Joe Ortiz (The
Village Baker) calls "Levit" composed of wheat flour, salt, dry
yeast, ascorbic acid, and amylase. Here is the web site of the
supplier in the recipe: <http://www.ireks.com/xist4c/web/about-us_id_6_.htm>