Bread Machine (85 page)

To use starter that has been stored in the refrigerator, allow it to come to room temperature before adding it to the machine along with the rest of the dough ingredients. If frozen, let the starter defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then come to room temperature before using.

The
pâte fermentées
used in
Pain de Paris
and
Pain á l’Ancienne
are interchangeable. The rye
pâte fermentée
is not interchangeable with other recipes, but may be stored this same way.

Twenty minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the lowest rack of the oven, if desired, and preheat to 425°F.

Dust the tops of the loaves with flour and rub in; this will give the bread a rustic look after baking. Slash each loaf decoratively with an X using a sharp knife.

Place the baking sheet on another baking sheet of the same size (called double panning), to prevent burning the bottoms. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaves are brown, crisp, and sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Remove from the oven and remove the loaves from the baking sheet to cool on a rack. Let cool completely before slicing.

PAIN AU LEVAIN          
Makes 2 round loaves

T
his is good plain bread, country style. You will run the Dough cycle several times; to make the chef, or French-style starter, which sits overnight to ferment, and then to make the
levain
sponge, which sits for a few hours before mixing the final dough. My chef starter is nontraditional, but the buttermilk makes for a quick, aromatic starter, flecked with golden specks of butter, that would normally take a week to develop. This loaf utilizes a
levain-levure,
a starter that is made with some commercial yeast (different than a
levain naturel,
a true sourdough without any manufactured yeasts and all fermentation by wild airborne yeasts). You can remove a walnut-sized piece of the dough, called a
levain
or old dough, and place it in a jar in the refrigerator. This little ball of dough can be used in place of the chef starter when you make your next batch of bread; it needs to be used within a week. If you keep cutting off a little ball of dough whenever you make the bread, the flavor of your loaves will evolve just like in the old Parisan cellar bakeries. This bread is baked in the oven to get that good crust and round shape and has a fine, chewy texture.

1
¹
/
₂
- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES

For the chef starter:

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons water

1
¹
/
₄
cups bread flour

3 tablespoons dark rye flour

¹
/
₂
teaspoon SAF or bread machine yeast

For the levain:

All of the chef starter

¹
/
₂
cup water

1 cup bread flour

¹
/
₄
cup dark rye flour

¹
/
₄
teaspoon SAF or bread machine yeast

For the dough:

¹
/
₃
cup water

1
¹
/
₃
cups bread flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

¹
/
₄
teaspoon SAF yeast or
³
/
₄
teaspoon bread machine yeast

To make the chef starter, place all the starter ingredients in the bread pan. Program for the Dough cycle, and set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes. When the timer rings, press Stop and unplug the machine. Let the starter sit in the bread machine for 8 to 12 hours. The thick batter will smell pleasantly sour.

To make the
levain
, place the water, flours, and yeast in the bread pan with the bubbly chef starter. Program for the Dough cycle, and set a timer for 7 minutes. When the timer rings, press Stop and unplug the machine. You will have a beautiful, shiny dough ball that is very sticky and flecked with bits of rye. Let the sponge sit in the bread machine for 3 hours. Check halfway through in case it fills the entire pan and you need to stir it down. It will lighten as it rises, filling the pan.

To make the dough, place all the dough ingredients in the bread pan with the
levain
. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. The dough will be shiny and very moist. Don’t be tempted to add more flour. There will be a definite fresh fermented smell.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the very soft dough for 2 to 3 minutes by hand, adding another 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour just to have the dough hold its shape; it will still be soft. Divide in half to make 2 equal portions and shape into 2 tight rounds. Place the loaves on the baking sheet. (Or shape to fit a long or round cloth-lined basket lightly dusted with flour for rising before turning out onto a prepared baking sheet or onto the hot baking stone.) Cover the dough loosely with a clean tea towel and let rise for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Twenty minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the lowest rack of the oven, if desired, and preheat to 425°F. (Optional: To form a crisp crust, 15 minutes before baking, pour hot water into a broiler pan and place the pan on the bottom rack to steam the oven for the initial baking period.)