Reggie asked about Sicilian bread last week while I was on vacation
and didn't have my recipe books. I didn't see an answer in this
week's newsletter so this is Peter Reinhart's Pane Siciliano. I've
made this recipe often because the long pre-ferment, the semolina,
and the sesame seed coating gives this bread a unique and delicious
flavor. As an added bonus it also makes a terrific pizza dough.
Pate' Fermente' - At least one day before baking
(This is not a biga, it is what Joe Ortiz calls the "old dough method")
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 c bread flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
3/4+ c water (enough to make a soft but not sticky dough)
Mix, knead, place in a lightly oiled bowl, and roll around to
coat. Seal in plastic wrap and let rise until double, punch down,
re-seal and let rise in refrigerator at least overnight or up to 3
days. (I give it about 24 hours)
Pane Siciliano - the evening before baking
All of the pate' fermente'
1 3/4 c bread flour
1 3/4 c semolina flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb honey
1 1/4 c to 1 1/2 c warm water
Sesame seeds for coating (they do not have to be toasted, they will
toast during baking)
Remove pate' fermente' from fridge, cut into 10 pieces, leave on
counter to take chill off. Mix the dry ingredients in a mixer bowl,
add the pate' fermente' pieces, oil, honey, and 1 1/4 c water. Mix
until all the flour is wet, then knead, either by hand or machine
into a soft pliable dough. Use the extra 1/4 c water (and/or extra
flour) as necessary. If you know how to handle wet dough, wetter is
better. Place in oiled bowl, seal in plastic, let rise until
doubled, about 2 hours.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Shape into baguettes 2' long,
try not to degas the dough. Now the fun part. Roll one half of the
baguette toward the center in a spiral (ccw or cw), roll the other
half toward the center into a spiral in the same direction. When
you are done you should have a "curly S". Do the same for all 3
pieces. Place the shaped loaves on a baking sheet (a flat sheet or
the back of a sheet with sides) lined with parchment paper, mist with
water and apply sesame seeds liberally, the loaves will expand and
spread the seeds out.
Place in a food grade plastic bag or seal in plastic wrap but give
the loaves room to rise. I add a wet sheet of paper towel to the bag
away from the loaves to keep the dough moist. Place in refrigerator
overnight.
The next morning remove the loaves from the refrigerator. They
should have risen noticeably. Poke one; the dent should spring back
slowly and incompletely. If not, cover and let rise on the counter.
Preheat the oven to 500 deg F. I prefer to use a baking stone and
the steam generating method that I posted here a while ago but this
crust will be soft compared to a baguette crust because of the
semolina but at least some misting during the early part of baking is
useful to prevent the crust from hardening too soon. Either bake on
the sheet or slide the loaves and parchment paper onto the baking
stone. After 2 minutes of misting, lower the oven temp to 450 deg F,
rotate the loaves after 15 minutes, bake until golden brown and
internal temperature reaches 200 - 205 deg F. Enjoy!