ASK THE SPLENDID TABLE (R) by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

ASK THE SPLENDID TABLE (R)

by
Lynne Rossetto Kasper

     Host of The Splendid Table (R), American Public Media's national food show.  Ask questions and find Lynne, recipes, and station listings at splendidtable.org, or 800-537-5252. Copyright 2006 Lynne Rossetto Kasper

     Dear Lynne,   Bread is my blind spot.  Even my friends who can't cook make bread; my dough will not rise.  Recipes say put the  dough in a warm place, but I can't seem to find a place in my house that is warmer than the others.  Any suggestions here?   Is there any other variable that could keep the dough from rising?  An Embarrassed and  Breadless Rookie in Ohio

     Dear Breadless Rookie,   For something seemingly so simple,  bread's variables are confounding.  Yet there are five easy basics you can lean on.

     THE ROOKIE BREAD BAKER'S FIVE SAVIORS

    
     1.   Check which type of yeast you have.  If it is instant or rapid-rise yeast, this must be mixed first with flour, not liquids.   If you blend it with liquid first, it could expend all its raising abilities before touching the dry ingredients.  So you get a dough which refuses to rise.
       (Personally I prefer the conventional dry yeasts and slower, cooler rises which give bigger and more complex flavors to the bread.
     If using the usual dry yeast, make sure it is alive and ready to raise the dough.    To find out, first check the date on the yeast package.  It should not be near the expiration date.) 
    
     2.  Proof the yeast, that is combine it with several tablespoons of warm liquid ( 90º to 130ºF -- I keep it around 100ºF and always check with an instant reading thermometer) called for in the recipe, plus a  generous pinch of sugar.  It should bubble within 8 minutes.   This is the sure way to know your yeast is alive and active.  If the yeast doesn't bubble after 8 minutes, toss it out.   You need a fresher example.
    
     3.  Watch temperatures.  Dry yeast needs warm liquid to first blossom.  After that, room temperature ingredients are the safest way to go.   Yeast dies if exposed to temperatures over 140ºF.   Maybe you've been warming the dough too much.   The slower your bread rises, the better the flavor.   Cool room temperature is just fine.  
    
     4.  Knead dough 10 minutes, never less.  Kneading helps rising because it makes the dough elastic. 
    
     5.   Don't weigh down the dough with too much flour.  Most doughs should be stretchy and a little sticky.

     Test drive these concepts with this Italian farm house focaccia.  It comes from the mountains where Tuscany meets its neighboring region of Liguria.  This is a bread to build a meal around, with soup, good cheese and olive oil for dipping.  It begs for toppings, too.  Most breads freeze beautifully for several months.
     Within this focaccia's ingredients and method lie two secrets to bringing depth and character to homemade breads.   By blending white and whole wheat flours to recreate the home-ground , coarse-sifted flours country people have baked with for centuries, you achieve especially nutty flavors.  Giving the dough time to ripen opens up more of its wheaten character.  
    
     COOK'S NOTE:  Remember, build your bread around your life, not your life around your bread.  Blend and knead the bread the night before you want to serve it.  Let it mature overnight in the refrigerator, and ripen it with a slow rise the next day.  There's no extra work, but by making time your ally you'll have a bread of exceptional depth with a dense nutty-tasting crumb. 

    

OVERNIGHT FARMHOUSE FOCACCIA
Makes an 18 by 13-inch low lying loaf

1-1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
2-2/3 cups warm water (90 to 100 degrees)
3/4 cup (4.5 ounces) whole wheat bread flour (organic preferred)
4-1/2 cups (about 22 ounces) organic all-purpose unbleached white flour  (organic
     preferred)
3-1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
an additional 1/2 to l cup all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
about 1  tablespoon coarse sea salt


     1.  Start the focaccia a day ahead.  In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup of the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the whole wheat  flour.  Let stand until bubbly, 5 to 8 minutes.  With a wooden spoon or a heavy-duty mixer with  a paddle attachment,  beat in the remaining water, whole wheat flour, the 4-1/2 cups of white flour, and salt .   Beat by hand or at medium low speed about 5 minutes into a soft, sticky very elastic dough.   
        2 .   Knead 10 minutes, adding about a 1/2 cup flour so that dough cleans the sides of the mixer bowl, but about a third of it puddles on the bottom.  
          By hand work in the extra 1/2 cup flour, turning the dough out onto a floured board.  Knead it with floured hands.  The dough should be soft, sticky and very elastic.   Finish the dough made by either method by kneading in a few more tablespoons of flour to reduce it's stickiness.  It will be soft, and a little sticky.  Place in a large, oiled bowl.   Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate  8 to 12 hours.  It will not rise, so don't worry.
         3.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times.  Set it back in the bowl and let it rise at room temperature about 4 hours, or until tripled in bulk.   Knead down with floured hands (it will be soft and sticky).   Oil a 18"x 13" sheet pan, or 3  9-inch square cake pans.  Stretch the dough to fill the pan.  It will be about 1/2-inch thick.  Cover with a towel and let rise at room temperature 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours, or until doubled in bulk.  
          4.  During this last rise, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt , or top dough with toppings to taste.  Bake for  about  40  minutes, or until dough is a rich golden brown.   Slip it out of the pan directly onto the oven rack and bake another 5 minutes, or until hollow sounding when tapped on its underside.  Serve focaccia rewarmed, or at room temperature.