Pugliese
Pugliese refers to the southeastern Italian region of Apulia (Puglia in Italian), but the variations on loaves with this name are endless. Many of the versions I’ve seen in the United States are similar to ciabatta—sometimes they actually are ciabatta, but are called pugliese just to differentiate them from the competition. What is the same is that both of these breads, along with many others, fall into the category of rustic breads, which we define as hydration in excess of 65 percent, usually approaching 80 percent. In Italy, where the flour is naturally more extensible than the very elastic North American flour that we use, there is no need to overhydrate. But here we need to pump more water into the dough in order to stretch the gluten strands, giving the loaves their distinctive big-hole structure and delicious nutlike flavor. One distinction between ciabatta, which originated in the Lake Como region of Lombardy (northern Italy), and pugliese is that pugliese breads are usually baked in rounds rather than in the slipper shape of ciabatta. The French version of a rustic bread, pain rustique, is also slightly elongated, but more of a bâtard than a slipper shape. Those, along with the pain à l’ancienne baguette (page 191) and the very elongated stirato and stubby pain rustique (pictured on page 135, made from the ciabatta dough), are all rustic breads, each with its own shape and ingredient makeup. An important distinction of the true pugliese bread, and one not often seen in American versions, is the use of golden durum flour, finely milled and packaged as fancy or extra fancy durum flour. Fancy durum is milled from the same strain of durum wheat as the sandy semolina flour that is sprinkled underneath hearth loaves and used in pane siciliano (page 198), but it is milled more finely. There are bakeries in Apulia that make this bread with 100 percent fancy durum flour and some that use a blend of durum and regular bread flours. In the following formula, I suggest a blend, but feel free to play around with the proportions, moving even into a 100 percent durum version when you feel adventurous. The challenge for anyone tackling this bread is getting comfortable with wet dough. Once you do, you will find it difficult to resist the desire to make rustic bread all the time; the softness and pliability of the dough give it a wonderful feeling in the hand. Combined with the flavor enhancement of long fermentation, this formula brings forth a loaf that is so dramatic, so delicious, and so much fun to make that it will forever change your standard of what constitutes great bread.
Recipe information
Yield
makes two 1-pound loaves
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Remove the biga from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or a serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.
Step 2
Stir together the flour, salt, and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the biga pieces, mashed potatoes, and 1 cup of the water. (If you are using all bread flour instead of durum, start with 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water.) Using a large metal spoon (or on low speed with the paddle attachment), mix until the ingredients form a wet, sticky ball. If there is still some loose flour, add the additional water as needed and continue to mix.
Step 3
If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand (see page 56). Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or for as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is still very sticky against the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in a little more flour (either type) until it clears the sides. Don’t be alarmed if the dough seems very sticky. The wetter it is, the better the final bread will be.
Step 4
Sprinkle enough bread flour on the counter to make a bed about 8 inches square. Using a scraper or spatula dipped in water, transfer the dough to the bed of flour and proceed with the stretch-and-fold method shown on page 138. Mist the top of the dough with spray oil, again dust with flour, and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.
Step 5
Let rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch-and-fold method and again mist with spray oil, dust with flour, and cover. (Each time you repeat this process, the dough will become stronger, more elastic, and less sticky.)
Step 6
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. For the third time, repeat the stretch-and-fold technique. With a spatula dipped in water, transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment the dough at room temperature for 2 hours, undisturbed.
Step 7
Generously dust the counter with flour. Remove the plastic wrap and, with hands and a bowl scraper dipped in flour, transfer the dough to the counter, taking care not to degas the dough any more than necessary. With a metal pastry scraper that has been dipped into flour, or a serrated knife dusted with flour, divide the dough into 2 pieces. Again dipping your hands into flour, gently shape the dough pieces into 2 boules, as shown on page 72. Let them relax, seam-side down, on the counter for a few minutes while you prepare the proofing bowls.
Step 8
Prepare 2 proofing bowls as shown on page 36, making sure to coat with spray oil and generously dust the entire surface of the cloth with flour. Gently transfer the dough, seam side up, into each of the bowls. If the seam opens up, pinch it closed. Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and cover the bowls with the flaps of the cloth.
Step 9
Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough has expanded to about 1 1/2 times its original size.
Step 10
Prepare the oven for hearth baking as described on pages 91–94, making sure to have an empty steam pan in place. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
Step 11
Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal, and gently transfer the dough to the peel or pan by carefully turning each bowl over onto the peel, lifting off the bowl, and then carefully peeling off the cloth. The dough will spread out on the peel or pan. With a sharp razor blade or French lame, score the loaves with a pound (#) sign. Transfer the dough to the baking stone (or bake on the sheet pan). Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds, spray the oven walls with water and close the door again. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals. After the final spray, lower the oven setting to 450°F and bake for 15 minutes. Check the loaves at this point and rotate 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. Continue baking for 5 to 15 minutes, or until the breads are a deep golden brown and register about 205°F in the center.
Step 12
Remove the loaves from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. The crusts will soften somewhat as they cool. Allow the loaves to cool for at least 40 minutes before slicing or serving.
BREAD PROFILE
Step 13
Lean, rustic dough; indirect method; commercial yeast
DAYS TO MAKE: 2
Step 14
Day 1: 2 1/2 to 4 hours biga
Step 15
Day 2: 1 hour to de-chill biga; 7 minutes mixing; 4 1/2 to 5 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 15 to 30 minutes baking
Commentary
Step 16
If you do not have fancy durum flour, you can substitute semolina flour, but use only one-third as much as the formula calls for and replace the rest with an equal amount of either unbleached high-gluten or bread flour. You can also make this without any durum or semolina by using only high-gluten or bread flour.
Step 17
This dough is yeasted and also boosted by a biga pre-ferment, but you can make a wild-yeast, mixed-method version by replacing the biga with an equal amount of firm sourdough starter (page 233).
Step 18
Because it is so wet, this dough is well-suited to mixing in a food processor. Follow the food processor instructions on page 55.
Step 19
Another ingredient that shows up in some versions of pugliese is mashed potato. A small amount adds a nice flavor and tenderizes the bread because of the potato starch. In this formula it is an optional ingredient; if you use it, you may have to increase the flour to compensate for the added moisture. Be sure to use mashed potatoes that have already been seasoned with salt, such as those left over from dinner.
Step 20
The amount of water in the final dough will be determined greatly by the particular type and brand of flour you choose. Durum flour, in any form, tends to absorb more water than bread flour, so use the amount below only as a guideline and starting point. Be prepared to adjust as the dough demands.
Step 21
This dough also makes exceptional pizza dough or focaccia. See pages 162 and 211 for instructions on shaping it for these applications.
Grace note: Bruschetta
Step 22
Along with grissini (breadsticks), bruschetta, or sliced, toasted, and topped bread, has become a worldwide food trend. Bruschetta is yet another great Italian variation of pizza—that is, crust with topping. So much has been written about how to make so-called authentic bruschetta that I will add only a few comments to the canon.
Step 23
You can use almost any kind of bread, but the best bread to use is rustic bread, like ciabatta or pugliese, with big holes and an easy-to-crisp texture. Slice it medium-thin, brush it with olive oil (garlic infused, if you like, or use garlic butter), and toast it under a broiler or in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until crisp. Then top it with your favorite topping, the most popular being fresh chopped tomatoes marinated in chopped fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, coarse salt, and pepper. Another option is to simply rub a slice of the bread with a clove of garlic, and then toast it.
Step 24
You can return the topped slices to the broiler if you want to melt cheese or heat up the topping.
Step 25
There are no rules governing toppings except one, the classic culinary law: flavor rules.
Step 26
Smoked eggplant purée is a topping that we love at home. To make it, buy 3 or 4 large eggplants and fire up a charcoal grill (this will not work as well on a gas grill, since you need the intense heat of hot coals). When the coals turn white, lay the whole, uncut eggplants on the grill about 5 inches above the coals. Turn them every 10 minutes, grilling until the outsides are charred and the insides are a soft mush. This will take 40 to 60 minutes. It is important that the eggplants grill until they become very mushy. Transfer them to a brown paper bag and close the bag to let them steam. When they are cool enough to handle, after 20 to 30 minutes, cut them open. Working with one at a time, scoop the soft interior eggplant flesh into a bowl. Discard the charred skin, the hard core, and any large seed sacs. Season the flesh with fresh lemon juice (about 2 tablespoons per eggplant), extra virgin olive oil (about 1 tablespoon per eggplant), and coarse salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon per eggplant and increase from there). Purée this mixture in a food processor, adjusting the salt and lemon juice to taste. Black pepper or ground cayenne pepper can be added to taste. This makes a very smoky, lively dip, perfect for spreading on bruschetta and serving either cold or warm.
BAKER’S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
Step 27
Pugliese %
Step 28
Biga: 105%
Step 29
Fancy durum flour: 100%
Step 30
Salt: 3.8%
Step 31
Instant yeast: 1.1%
Step 32
Mashed potatoes: 20%
Step 33
Water (approx.): 85%
Step 34
Total: 314.9%
Note
Step 35
Some people with gas stoves smoke the eggplants by turning them at 3-minute intervals over a gas burner, resting the eggplant against the grate as it chars. This is a messy but viable alternative to grilling over hot coals.
