Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads (20 page)
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Authors: Nancy Baggett
Tags: #Cooking
KS Quotient
Fairly Easy: Fuss-free ingredients, added all at once. Hand-shaping required.
Fougasse,
which means "ladder," was originally a hearth bread and is related to focaccia. A tradition in Provence, fougasses are often flavored with black olives, anchovy paste, pork cracklings, or Gruyère cheese. Slightly sweet versions are also readied for holidays.
Like focaccia, fougasses are fairly thin, flat, and crisp, but, as their name suggests, their appearance is entirely different: The most prominent feature is usually deep slashes, or "ladders," that cut through and open up decorative slits in the dough; the effect is somewhat like that of the cutwork patterns in some fine table and bed linens. Besides adding visual drama, the ladders yield especially crusty loaves by increasing the surface area directly exposed to the heat.
One of the most artful and popular fougasse loaf shapes, which I love and call for here, is the "tree of life" form: One elongated slot is slashed down the center of a gently rounded pine tree shape (think rounded triangle or teardrop) and four or so perpendicular side openings fan out from the center slit on each side to suggest its branches. Don't worry, it's easier than it sounds; even an inexpert rendering looks enticing.
Traditional Provençal bakers also create much more elaborate shapes of intertwined double or even triple trees, as well as assorted round and other (usually symmetrical) fantasy forms. Sometimes fougasses include several dozen "ladders," and are almost too pretty to eat.
To make fougasses, prepare the
Pain Ordinaire (Everyday French Baguettes or Bâtards)
dough and complete the first rise as directed. Then use the following recipe to prepare a "plain" or black olive version. The olives are a nice addition but hardly necessary: The "plain" fougasses have a remarkable chewiness that complements the already enticing French bread flavor.
Yield: four 9- to 10-inch-long fougasses
½ cup well-drained, chopped (pitted) Niçoise olives, optional
1 batch
Pain Ordinaire (Everyday French Baguettes or Bâtards)
dough, ready for its second rise
Unbleached all-purpose white flour or bread flour for dusting
White or yellow cornmeal for dusting
Second Rise
If adding olives, pat them dry on paper towels, then evenly fold into the dough. If it is sticky, working in the bowl, lift and turn it while dusting with and smoothing in more flour until stiffened and easy to handle. Spray four 10-inch-long sheets of baking parchment with nonstick spray. Generously dust them with flour.
Divide the dough in quarters (oiled kitchen shears work best), placing each portion on a sheet. Let rest for 10 minutes. Dusting the dough with flour as needed, pat and press one portion out into an 8- to 9-inch-long tree of life (rounded triangle) shape. Using well-oiled kitchen shears or a pizza wheel, cut a 5- to 6-inch-long center slash that goes completely through the dough and opens up a gash down its length, but stops about an inch short of the point and bottom edge. Cut three or four 1- to 1½-inch-long slashes that fan out and form slots on each side of the center one; be sure that the slashes don't cut into one another or through the edge of the dough. With flour-dusted fingertips, stretch and pull the dough out from the top, bottom, and sides so the cuts open up as much as possible; otherwise they may close up as the dough rises. Tent the fougasses with nonstick spray—coated foil.
Let Rise Using Either of These Methods
For a 30- to 60-minute regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, then let stand, covered, until warmed up. For loaves that have a well-defined shape, large holes, and more chew, let rise for the minimum time; for loaves with a softer, plumper look and lighter crumb, let rise longer.
Baking Preliminaries
20 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the lowest position in the oven; preheat to 500°F. Place a broiler pan on the oven bottom. Place a very large rimmed baking sheet upside down on the lowest rack. Generously spritz or brush the loaves with water, then generously dust them with cornmeal.
Baking
Reduce the temperature to 475°F. Immediately add a cup of ice water to the broiler pan, being careful of splattering and steam. Remove the heated upside-down baking sheet and arrange two fougasses (with parchment) on it. Return the baking sheet to the lowest rack and bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until the loaves are well browned and their crusts very crisp. Test with a skewer inserted in the thickest part until it comes out with just slightly moist particles clinging to the bottom portion (or until the center registers 205° to 207°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for about 3 minutes more, just to be sure the centers are done. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Repeat the baking with the remaining two fougasses.
Serving and StoringTear or cut the fougasses into portions; eat warm or cool. Cool completely before storing. To maintain the crisp crust, store draped with a clean tea towel or in a heavy paper bag. Or store wrapped in foil: The crusts will soften, but can be crisped by heating the loaf, uncovered, in a 400°F oven for 5 minutes. The fougasses keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 1 month.
KS Quotient
Fairly Easy: Two-stage mixing. No hand-shaping.
Brioche is one of the richest and most finely textured yeast doughs; individual slices almost look as soft and golden as pound cake, though they are almost never more than faintly sweet. Brioche is lovely eaten both as is and in fancy French toast, and is sometimes called for in very elegant bread puddings. (I personally can't bear to use brioche for this purpose; it seems too contrary to the traditional notion of bread puddings as economizers designed to salvage pieces of unwanted everyday bread.)
The most elaborate brioche is
brioche á tête,
or "brioche with a head," which is baked in a special fluted pan and has a perky topknot rising in the center. Because the
Kneadlessly Simple
dough tends to be soft, and since I recall my fellow pastry school students and I producing many lopsided and sunken topknots while learning to work with brioche dough, I have opted for an easier, but equally delicious, "headless" version here. Bake it in a large loaf pan, or for a beautiful, foolproof decorative look, in a kugelhopf, Bundt, or similar fluted tube pan. (For a very sophisticated coffee cake, fold in chocolate shards and top the brioche with chocolate ganache glaze as directed in the variation at the end of the recipe.)
This recipe calls for beating in a lot of butter and eggs before the second rise, so, while this can be done by hand, it's easiest to use a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with a paddle.
Yield: 1 brioche, 14 to 16 slices
2½ cups (12.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose white flour, plus ¾ cup (3.75 ounces), plus more as needed
5½ tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1¼ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
1¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft but not melted, cut into ½-inch pieces, plus more for brushing dough top and brioche pan
1/3 cup good-quality instant nonfat dry milk powder (don't use a generic brand)
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature, plus 1 egg for egg wash (if using loaf pan)
First Rise
In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together 2½ cups of the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, the salt, and yeast. Vigorously stir in the ice water, scraping down the bowl and mixing until the dough is thoroughly blended. If the mixture is too dry to blend together, stir in just enough more ice water to facilitate mixing and yield a slightly firm dough. If the mixture is soft, stir in enough more flour to make it barely firm. Evenly brush the top lightly with butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.
Second Rise
In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2½ tablespoons sugar and the milk powder, then thoroughly whisk in the 2 eggs plus egg yolk until well blended. Gradually add the egg mixture, then ¾ cup of the flour into the dough and mix vigorously to incorporate; use a paddle and heavy-duty mixer on low if available. Add the butter a tablespoon or two at a time, mixing after each addition until smoothly incorporated. If dough still seems very moist and soft, mix in a few tablespoons more flour until slightly thicker than thick pancake batter. Turn out into a well-greased 8- to 10-cup Bundt or kugelhopf pan, or a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Cover with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up the butter.
Let Rise Using Either of These Methods
For a 2½- to 3½-hour regular rise, let stand at cool room temperature; or for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 48 hours, then set out at room temperature. Let rise until the dough reaches the pan rim if using an 8-cup tube pan or loaf pan or to 1 inch below the rim if using a 10-cup pan. Remove the plastic wrap as the dough nears it.
Baking Preliminaries
15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350°F.
Baking
If baking in the loaf pan, mix the remaining egg for the egg wash with 2 teaspoons water. Evenly brush over the dough top. Omit the glaze if the brioche will be baked in a fluted pan and served inverted. Bake on the lower rack for 35 to 45 minutes, covering the surface with foil partway through to prevent over-browning if necessary. Continue baking for 15 to 25 minutes more, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few particles clinging to the bottom (or until the center registers 201° to 203°F on an instant-read thermometer); the baking time will be longer in the loaf pan. When the brioche seems done, bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the brioche to loosen it from the pan and transfer to the rack; let cool completely.
TipThe accelerated rise is not offered for this bread, as the extra warmth might cause the butter in the dough to soften too much.
Serving and StoringThe loaf tastes and slices best fresh and at room temperature. Cool completely before storing airtight in plastic or foil. The bread will keep at room temperature for up 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.
Shave or chop 8 to 10 ounces of fine-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate into shards. Thoroughly fold into the dough right after the butter and extra flour have been incorporated (before the second rise). Proceed as for the original. Top the finished brioche with
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
while still warm, if desired.
