Pain Au Chic 55/365

Credit: http://www.pedlars.co.uk/

'The Chanel of the Bread Bin World'

Every Wednesday, I look forward to having a copy of the Stylist shoved into my hands by the little Asian men who valiantly wave copies of them about. My favourite page as always, is The Stylist List. This cute little mini bread bin caught my eye.

Now in my life, people who know me well also know that store bought sliced bread are often disposed off unwrapped, baguettes gone hard (I sometimes make croutons), other breads 'lao hong' ('lost air' as the chinese would say). The bread bin was my ultimate bread mortuary.

It was not until I passed through the towns in Liguria last summer that I fell in love with the local foccacia tossed in an abundance of olive oil and salt that allowed you to imagine of nothing more than olive branches waving delightfully at the salty sea over the cliffs. Coupled with the fluffiness of the bread, bronzed crispiness of the skin, sultry flavours dancing on your palette... ... ok I might be getting carried away here. It's bread we're talking about!

With renewed rigour, I sought out and tested several bread recipes when I came back. But without a bread machine, kneading can sometimes be a real pain when you're not in the mood for it! An Italian once told me that foccacia was one of the few breads that required very little handling and true to his word, it was one of the easiest (and most tasty!) breads I've tested out. I originally used a mish mash of recipes for Foccacia alla Ligure from the internet and tried several versions -- I've finally found this combination to be a winner (for me at least :)).

This is the plain version and you can wing it with olives, ham, sundried tomatoes (a favourite in our household!), rosemary, garlic or cheese. This serves 3-4.

2.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or organic white bread flour)

3/4 of a pack of easy bake yeast (about 5g. each pack normally has 7g)

3/4 table spoon

1/2 cup tepid water (plus extra as needed)

2-3 drizzles (or 1/8 cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the bowl.

Method:

1. Mix flour, yeast and tablespoon of salt together with a spatula (or food processor if you have one).

2. dribble and mix in the 1/2 cup of tepid (warm) water slowly.

3. drizzle one generous ribbon of olive oil around the dough and mix in. 

4. Add a little more warm water and mix in to form a soft dough (about 1 minute). At this point, you should be able to scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl and it will be quite elastic (and a little sticky). If too sticky, dust a little more flour in. If too dry, drip a little warm water in.

5. Oil the side of the mixing bowl, you can use the same bowl as the dough would have come away and the bowl will be quite clean. Using your hands which are oiled with some olive oil, shape the dough into a ball.

6. place a tea towel over the bowl and let it rise in a warm place (I usually put my next to the radiator) for about 2 hours. It should double in size. 

7. Take the dough out of the bowl, flatten it and knead it for 1 minute (not too vigourously!). Three or four folds and kneads will do, just to exercise the dough. Pull into three-four balls and wrap with clingfilm. Place in the fridge overnight. (or you can cook them at this point as well but refrigeration somehow gives fluffier results, as I have discovered by accident)

8. Take dough out of the fridge and let it rest for 30 mins. Press and push each ball of dough flat into desired shape (I usually shape it like a pita bread).  Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

9. In a small bowl, whisk together 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of tepid water. Drizzle over the dough. Let the dough sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Dimple the dough with your fingers and at this point, add the topping you desire. I usually sprinkle some coarse sea salt over the dough at this point.

10. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp. 

The caveat of this recipe is that it probably uses less olive oil than the traditional foccacia and is thus less fatty. I guess I could indulge myself once in a while with a greasy sumptuous treat which makes the bread softer but I find that the oily bread (as with most other greasy foods) don't keep as well for the following day.  The bread is great the next day as well (with a couple of minutes in the oven to warm up) with proscuitto or cured meats. :)  I have also used this as a pizza base.

Now. I think I have a very good reason to acquire my little Wesco bread bin.