A lot of my friends have gone into cooking - and one of the discussions I had with Shane and Nico was how difficult (it seemed) to make bread. Between us three - Shiang and I like to cook and bake, but Nico was the only one who was super into bread and actually had a lot of experience on it. He gave me two recipes and told me to try the prosciutto as a start. I was very scared that I would mess up as bread is a very simple recipe fo flour, water, yeast and salt - and most often than not, unexperienced bakers get them wrong - - -> so I opted to try it for the sake of trying instead of baking it for a meal for say Andy and myself.
The bread turned out to be wonderful!!!! I made the dough this afternoon, headed for dinner with a friend and when I returned back home I popped it in the oven. It's funny tasting bread at 12midnight but man it ROCKED! I ommitted the lard in favor for butter and sundried tomatoes instead of bacon. I think it should have been baked longer(I turned it over to late for the other side), but it ended up moist ( a bit too moist I think becauase of too much sundried tomatoes - I should have put 175g because sundried tomatoes I used was soaked in olive oil and added oil to the bread).
Nico's recipe is below!
Mix the dough - Hand MethodIn a large bowl, whisk together the flour, honey, pepper, yeast. Then whisk in the salt. This prevents the salt from killing the yeast. Add the water and lard and stir with a wooden spoon or your hand until the flour is moisted.Empty your dough onto a counter and knead it for 10 minutes or until it is very elastic and jumps back when you pressed with a fingertip. If it is very sticky, knead in a little flour (that is after 10 minutes. it IS very sticky to start with).Dust the dough lightly with flour and cover with a plastic wrap. Allow it to relax for 20 minutes.Shape the dough and let it rise.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. if it's not already on the counter. Roll it into a 18-inch long rope. Shape it into a ring, overlapping ends by 2 inches and press lightly to seal them. The ring will be about 7 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high, with a 3-inch hole in the center.Set the bread on a parchment and cover it with a large container or oiled plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise until almost double about 1 hour. It will be almost 9 inches across by 1 1/2 inches high, and when it is pressed gently with a fingertip the depression will slowly fill in.Preheat the ovento 450 F 1 hour before baking Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it and a cast iron skiller or sheet pan on the floor of the oven before pre heating.Glaze and bake the breadShortly before baking, brush the dough all over with melted bacon fat or butter. Do not slash the dough. Peel the dough from parchment and put it on to the baking stone or baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup ice cubes into the pan beneath and immediately close the door. (This is to build vapor). Bake for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 400F and continue baking for 10-15 minutes. or until the bread is deep golden brown. Halfway through baking with a heavy pancake turner, lift the bread and set it directly on the stone, turning it around as you do so for even baking. When the bread is baked, turn off the oven prop the door slightly ajar and leave the bread in the oven for 5 minutes.Glaze and cool the bread.Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. Brush with another coat of melted bacon or butter and cool completely. The texture of this bread is most appealing when torn rather than cut.
Nico's note: I have few of all the gears mentioned. I put just one layer of butter. I got just a wire rack that I cover in foil paper to put the bread on. I do preheat but just 10 minutes to reach temperature. I tried the vapor thingy but my oven is not hermetic. Anyway even with all these technical deficiencies it turned out damn good. Due to the size of my oven and proximity to the heating element, I got to cook it to a very dark color to cook it through. I will try a little less this time!!!
