Am I the last BBA’r to make Italian bread? I feel like I am! I’ve been seeing Kaiser rolls and Lavash crackers pop up on all the BBA blogs lately and I’m still stuck on Italian bread! I put it off because the last bread I made was the French bread and this one seemed almost exactly the same to me.
It was a 2 day bread (aren’t they all?!) which is another reason it took me so long to make it. On more than one occasion I’ve opened the book, saw that I needed to make a biga (just flour, yeast, & water kneading together and rested over night) and promptly closed the book.
Don’t ever show up on my doorstep looking for parchment. I buy it twice a year and run out within a week.
There was nothing difficult about the bread. I did have some trouble shaping it into torpedos if you can’t tell but that’s because I’m impatient not because it was a tricky dough.
And this is where I complain about hearth baking…
I just don’t get it. Hearth baking (a steam pan under the bread & spraying the sides of oven with water) is Annoying. Yes, with a capital A. I’ve made a lot of bread in my short baking life and I can’t tell the difference between a bread baked with a steam pan under it and one baked without. But when Peter Reinhart tells me to do it, I do it just in case this is the one bread that will be messed up if I don’t.
These little rolls make the best sandwiches. They’re so soft on the inside and the crust is deliciously chewy. I still can’t tell the difference between it and the French bread so I think one day I’ll have to make them both and do a side by side comparison.
As usual, if you’re interested in the book check it out here and make sure you visit the BBA blogroll to see what all the other bakers have been up to.
Aunt Deanna called yesterday morning to say she was going to make your French Bread. She wasn’t sure about the yeast (what to use, package or just what? I told her to just e-mail the question to you. She had bought all the ingredients to make your Oatmeal Raisin Cookies also. Girl, you have us all into the cooking and baking mode. These little beauties look awesome.
I think the breads look awesome. Hearth baking is a pain, but I do think it helps bread, particularly if you use a baking stone. They’re like the one-two punch of the bread baking world.
Funny that you say the bread tasted like the French Bread because when I think about it, the breads did taste pretty similar.
Daniel´s last blog ..The Daring Bakers Challenge January 2010: Nanaimo Bars
love the little rolls. I have some biga in the fridge left from the Kaiser. Prob make some little Italian rolls tomorrow. Good idea.
And they are beautiful
Making a loots bread too and for me,there are same too!!
Mirjana(Ruza123)´s last blog ..Salate
I have trouble with the hearth baking, too. Some people have luck with it, and some don’t. I can’t wait till my luck changes for the better. Nevertheless, your bread looks fantastic.
As always, looks delicious! Another recipe to save and make!
Nicole, RD´s last blog ..Larabar Giveaway!
Hearth baking drives me crazy. I have a very sensitive fire alarm system that is tied into the firestation. I always have to call up the alarm system and ask them to disconnect my alarm because I am baking. What do you think they think of my baking???
You are behind in nothing, you had a baby, complete absolution from all expectations for at least the next 12 months.
Anne Marie´s last blog ..Sunflower Seed Rye BBA #35
Nice loaves! I didn’t they it tasted like French bread, though. I thought that Italian bread was WAY better than the French bread.
ap269´s last blog ..BBA Challenge #29-32: Four Breads in a Row
[...] Amanda at Fake Ginger [...]