Bread is one of nature's treasures, especially when you use a good whole grain flour. Sometimes, I use King Arthur Bread flour for guests who are not fans of whole grain flour. In moderation, bread is part of a nutritious diet and takes any meal up a notch or two! My friend Karin, from the Herb Crib in Blairsville, shared this amazing recipe with me from one of her workshops. I adjusted the recipe from grams to ounces. The recipe calls for olives, but I make it without olives most of the time and it is delicious! It is super easy; just mix, cover the bowl and let it sit for a few hours prior to baking. This bread can be baked on a cookie sheet. However, I really like to bake it in my Emile Henry Baquette Baker seasoned with Everything Bagel on top prior to placing it in the oven. This batch makes three nice beautiful loaves of the most scrumptious bread. Serve with your favorite spread, real butter , or a mixture of aged balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Piccoli Finoli Bread (Herb Crib-Blairsville, Ga)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing pan.
1 1/2 cups of cold water
2 tsp. dried instant yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cups King Arthur whole grain flour or bread flour, plus extra for dusting
3/4 cup of King Arthur all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of pitted olives (if desired) I prefer to omit the olives.
Grease a large bowl with olive oil.
Mix 1/2 cup warm water with yeast and sugar.
Add the whole grain flour, all purpose flour, sall and 1/2 cup water, knead for 5 minutes.
Mix the rest of the water (1/2 cup) with the olive oil and add to the dough while kneading for another 5 minutes. Dough will be sticky.
Cover with a towel and let rise until double in size (1-2 hours).
Sprinkle more flour on dough. It will be soft and sticky.
Form dough in rectangle on pan and leave it to prove for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425. (I like to sprinkle 'Everything Bagel' Seasoning on top before putting it in the oven.)
Bake 15-20 minutes until golden. Do not overcook. If cooked in the covered Baquette pan, uncover halfway through baking to allow bread to brown.
Place dough in baquette baker after it has set 1-2 hours and sprinkle with Everything Bagel.
Allow dough to sit and rise for 30 more minutes before placing the cover on pan and baking in a preheated oven at 425 degrees.
Don't forget to place the top on the baquette baker prior to placing it in the oven. Remove the top after 8 minutes to allow the bread to brown.
Remove loaves, trim excess off edges (this loaf needs trimming). Slice loaves and serve with real butter, aged balsamic vinegar/olive oil, or your favorite spread.
Doug's Favorite Baquette Spread
Mix ricotta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and a little garlic powder in a bowl and serve for spread. Better yet, slice the bread the next day and make little grilled cheese sandwiches using the spread. Dip each side in a mixture of fresh garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, italian seasoning, and paprika for browning each side of sandwich in the pan.
Look how good this bread looks served with a meal! Yes, it definitely takes a meal up a notch or two!
Take your next meal up a notch or two with Baquette bread loaves!
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