BBA Challenge Week 15—Italian Bread

We went international again in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge, this time baking Italian bread.

I'm baking my way through Peter Reinart's award winning book along with 200+ other amateur bakers. Want to join in the madness, or just learn more about this semi-crazy undertaking? Check out the following links:

• Pinch My Salt BBA Challenge page—master resource for the challenge
• Buy the Book Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
• List of Breads See what's coming up.
• Blogroll See who's baking. Great list of some amazing foodie (and not-necessarily-foodie) blogs.
• Flickr Group Photos, photos and more photos!
• Facebook
• Twitter Search for #BBA to find challenge tweets.

Italian bread, while much like French bread, has its own distinguishing characteristics. Because it is an enriched dough (contains some olive oil and the option to make with milk instead of water), Italian bread is softer than French, less crusty. But the flavor—oh, the flavor. It's all there. The use of a pre-ferment (biga, in this case), helps maximize the flavor of the dough, bringing out the natural sweetness and complexity of the flour.

A biga is about as simple as it gets: bread flour, a small amount of yeast and some water. That's it. Mix it together, knead, let it proof, then put it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Here's something new, at least for me. Diastatic malt powder. According to Peter Reinhart, the diastatic malt powder "produces better color because it will accelerate the enzyme activity and thus promote sugar breakout from the starch." Sounds good to me.

So I added the optional 1 teaspoon of powder along with the rest of the ingredients, mixed, kneaded and proofed. I divided the dough roughly in half, or what looked like half. It seemed like the pieces took on a life of their own and I ended up with two very different shapes without even trying. I didn't want to over-handle to dough and completely degas it, so I just went with it.

I scored these loaves using my trusty razor blade. I actually scored them twice, opening up the slit that much more. The razor makes such a clean cut that it's no problem going back over it. No tugging, no jagged edges. Love it.

And just LOOK at how they baked up. Oh my goodness, I was so happy with these loaves. They're the first ones I've made that really look like artisan bread. The flecks of flour, the rustic-looking scores, the COLOR of that crust. I'm guessing that the diastatic malt powder had a hand in that. I made sure to crank the oven to the full 500°F to start, misted inside the oven at the required times and reduced the temperature when directed to in the recipe. I wasn't going to risk a pale crust like I had with the French bread.

I didn't get a terribly open crumb, but I didn't mind. I thought it tasted great. The texture was a bit chewy and a little soft. It was superb dipped in olive oil and dipping spices and made incredible toast. It was decidedly different than toasting a regular white or sweet bread. It was crispy and light and perfect with a light spread of butter. Simple. Delicious.

Can't get enough Italian bread? Check out some other BBA bakers' breads:

• Jeff (and Heather) at Culinary Disaster — Bread Sticks
• Two Skinny Jenkins — Beautiful 2nd attempt
• Joelen at Joelen's Culinary Adventures — Baking with Friends (love this idea!)
• Phyl at Of Cabbages & King Cakes — Amazing torpedo rolls