Rustic Bread

I love bread. A lot. When I come across a great bread recipe - I like to pass it on to you guys. This recipe was one I chose from the September 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap at recipezaar.com. The chef who submitted this recipe is Sage from Ontario, Canada. She uses a bread machine. I do not own one so will post how I did the recipe.

This recipe starts off using Biga (pronounced bee-gah) - an Italain starter. Something similar to sourdough in that it sits overnight.

Rustic Bread

Mix in a glass or plastic bowl:

1 cup warm water

1 tsp yeast

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Combine with wooden spoon until smooth. The mixture will be bubbly. Cover with a cloth and let stand overnight.

Next day (remember to give yourself several hours for the dough's first rising)

Combine:

Biga

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 TBSP honey

2 TBSP butter, softened

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp sugar

1 TBSP salt

2 TBSP gluten

2 tsp yeast

I use my bosche to mix well. I let it sit for about 40 minutes. Then I added:

1 additional cup whole wheat flour

2-3 cups white flour - enough to make a soft, non-sticky dough

Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise about 3 hours. It will take that long. Knead for a bit then shape into 2 long loaves. Cover and let rise 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Score the loaves and dust with white flour if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30-35 minutes. Bread is done when tapping on the top yields a hollow sound.