Described as a bread that's fragrant with rosemary, with a crust that "sparkled with diamonds", I couldn't wait to pull mine from the oven. It's a fairly simple recipe. Aside from the Biga* that needs to sit for at least 14 hours before you make the bread, it comes together quickly, as well.
The original recipe makes 4 one-pound loaves. That's actually not too much, as I bet neighbors and family and friends would readily welcome one into their kitchen (or you could freeze a couple). But I decided to halve the recipe the first time around.
One thing that I found (which didn't seem to bother any of the other BBBabes) was the salt content. Not the salt on the crust, but the salt within the crumb itself seemed to be overwhelming to me. Almost so much that I couldn't eat it alone. Okay, I couldn't eat it alone. I needed to toast it, or use it in a sandwich with unsalted goodies adorning it. But it was still tasty. I've reduced the salt in the recipe below, but if you'd like to go with the full suggested amount, check out one of the other BBBabes posts!
Panmarino (Italian Rosemary Bread)
Panmarino, aka Italian Rosemary Bread, is a fragrant and rustic bread infused with olive oil and dusted with diamonds of salt.
by
Prep Time: 18 hours (largely unattended)
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Keywords: bake bread vegetarian soy-free nut-free flour rosemary Italian
Ingredients (2 (one pound) loaves)
- 72 grams (2.5 ounces) bread flour
- 61 grams (2-1/8 ounces) water
- pinch of instant yeast
- biga
- 442 grams (15.5 ounces) bread flour
- 238.5 grams (8.5 ounce) lukewarm water
- 22 grams (.75 ounces) lukewarm milk
- 5 grams fine sea salt
- pinch of instant yeast
- 44 grams (1.5 ounces) olive oil
- 4.5 grams (.17 ounce) chopped fresh rosemary
- coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
making the Biga:
Combine the bread flour, water, and yeast in a bowl. Stir until well blended. Scape down the edge of the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours.
Combine biga, bread flour, water, and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until blended.
Add the salt and yeast and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium and mix for about 7 more minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Add the olive oil and rosemary, mix on low speed until you have a smooth, but sticky, dough. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and divide into two portions (each will weigh 1 pound / 448 grams). Dough will be sticky, so use floured hands to shape into two rounds. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Dust a pizza peel with flour or cornmeal (or line a baking sheet with parchment and dust with a bit of flour or cornmeal).
Uncover the dough and gently press down on it to let out any gas, flouring your work surface again, if necessary. Shape each piece of dough into a tight, neat round. Place on the prepared pizza peel or baking sheet, leaving space between them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
Place a baking stone on the center rack of the oven, a metal pan on the shelf underneath, and preheat the oven to 450° F about 20-30 minutes before baking. If you don't have a baking stone, use the baking sheet method.
Uncover the dough and score the top of each loaf in a star pattern using a lame or serrated knife. Sprinkle coarse sea salt into the crevices.
If using a baking stone, quickly slide the loaves from the pizza peel onto the stone. If using the baking sheet, simply slide the whole thing into the oven. Add 1 cup of ice to the pan and close the oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is light brown and crisp and the loaves make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
"Biga is a type of pre-fermentation used in Italian baking. Many popular Italian breads, including ciabatta, are made using a biga. Using a biga adds complexity to the bread's flavor and is often used in breads that need a light, open texture with holes. Apart from adding to flavor and texture, a biga also helps to preserve bread by making it less perishable.
Biga techniques were developed after the advent of bakers yeast as bakers in Italy moved away from the use of sourdough and needed to recover some of the flavor that was given up in this move. Bigas are usually dry and thick compared to a sourdough starter. This thickness is believed to give a Biga its characteristic slightly nutty taste. Biga is usually made fresh every day, using a small amount of bakers yeast in a thick dough, which varies from 45 to 60% hydration as a bakers percentage, and is allowed to ferment from 12 to 16 hours to fully develop its flavor." ~via Wikipedia
The Bread Baking Babes (current dozen) are:
The Bread Baking Buddies are: YOU!
So which Babe is the hosting kitchen this month? That would be Cathy at Bread Experience, if you'd like to join in, simply make Panmarino (yes, you may adapt) - and then send Cathy your link (info in her announcement post). Submissions are due by July 29th. Once you've posted, you'll receive a Buddy badge for baking along. I hope you'll join us this month!
- Bake My Day - Karen
- blog from OUR kitchen - Elizabeth
- Bread Experience - Cathy
- Feeding my Enthusiasms - Pat/Elle
- All Roads Lead to the Kitchen - Heather
- Life's a Feast - Jamie
- Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya
- Lucullian Delights - Ilva
- My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
- My Kitchen In Half Cups - Tanna
- Notitie Van Lien - Lien
- Thyme for Cooking - Katie (Bitchin’ Bread Baking Babe Bibliothécaire)
The Bread Baking Buddies are: YOU!
So which Babe is the hosting kitchen this month? That would be Cathy at Bread Experience, if you'd like to join in, simply make Panmarino (yes, you may adapt) - and then send Cathy your link (info in her announcement post). Submissions are due by July 29th. Once you've posted, you'll receive a Buddy badge for baking along. I hope you'll join us this month!
I am also sharing this bread with Susan's Yeastspotting!
