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Sunday, December 06, 2009

This Weekend’s Adventure: Pane Integrale

This weekend’s cooking adventure, brought to me by the New York Times. I’d clipped a recipe from the Times magazine back in October:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11food-t-001.html?scp=1&sq=pane%20integrale&st=cse

Jim Lahey’s commitment to whole-grain, organic, and locally sourced bread really intrigued me. And while I couldn’t exactly follow in his footsteps, I could at least take baby steps in his general direction.

I’ll admit readily that I’m not much of a baker. My grandmother was fantastic at it, she made the yummiest cakes. But I’m more salty/savory, but the thought of baking a loaf of bread every week has a romance to it.

The first thing I thought when I removed the loaf from the dutch oven in which it had been baking was “hmm, it’s going to be hard to make sandwiches out of this one.” In my inexperience, I’d shaped the loaf squat and wide--it resembled a flying saucer. Once I tasted it, though, I was really happy with this first effort. The recipe produced a firm yet moist loaf, and the only surprise to me was the cornmeal I used to dust the top of the bread had formed a fairly crispy crust (note to self, use finely ground cornmeal or flour next time).

I love the fact that all you need to make this bread are the ingredients, a bowl, your hands, a pot, and an oven. No extended kneading required, no high-powered Kitchenaid mixer necessary. Just some time (the first rise takes 12-18 hours). And while it may not compete with the fantastic loaf of bread from Zingerman’s that we devoured earlier this week (thank you, Michael and Denise!), it’s a worthy addition to the table. Sante.