Poppy Bread with Pasta Madre Starter

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Pasta Madre (meaning ‘dough mother’ in Italian and has nothing to do with pasta), aka Lievito Madre (mother yeast), is a stiff sourdough starter, more like a dough which is widely used across Italy and favoured for both its active nature, mild flavour profile (no sour flavour) and ability to leaven egg and dairy-enriched doughs, like panettone, an Italian holiday cake that is eaten during the Christmas season. Check out here or here, if you want to learn more about this Italian mother yeast-Lievito Madra.
Last, but not the least, if you already have a liquid sourdough starter with 100% hydration at home, you can easily convert it to the solid pasta madre. Take out your liquid sourdough starter of 100 % hydration and leave it to come to room temperature (22C-24C / 72-75F) and give it 2-3 hours. Now you can start feeding the starter with a feeding ratio - 2:2:1 (2 parts liquid starter, 2 parts flour, 1 part water). For example, 20 g starter + 20 g strong flour + 10 g water. Feed 2 times every 5 hours, or until it doubles in size. You can also leave it in the fridge overnight, just feed the starter before going to bed and feed again in the morning. Repeat the process for 2 days or 3 days if making enriched breads.

 

Poppy Bread with Pasta Madre Starter

adapted from Madre Sesam Brot – einfach knusprig by Marcel Paa

130 g Sourdough starter ( pasta madre, aka lievito madre, a special firm starter maintained at 50-60% hydration) 270 ml Water (or up to 330 ml) 360 g Bread flour or plain flour 90 g Einkorn wholemeal flour or any wholemeal flour of your choice 12 g Salt Poppy seeds (or seeds of your choice)

1. In order to get a nice rise of the dough and to make a fully leavened bread, the starter should be refreshed or rebuilt at temperatures between 25-30C / 75-85F two days (3 days if you want to make sweet and enriched breads, like Panettone, Pandoro or Colomba) before making bread.
2. Place all the ingredients in your kitchen machine fitted with a dough hook and mix at low speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be completely detached from the bowl and pass the windowpane test (Take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it). If you can stretch the dough without it breaking, that means the gluten is fully developed and your dough is properly kneaded. Otherwise, knead the dough for another two minutes and try the windowpane test again.
3. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and proof for 2.5-4 hours at room-temperature. In the meantime stretch and fold the dough for 2-3 times. Stretching and folding helps activate the gluten in flour, making it easier to work with and shape.
4. Lightly wet the hand you are going to use to stretch and fold the dough. Scoop your fingers underneath one side of the dough. Lift the dough upward and fold the stretched dough over to another side. Repeat on all four sides of the dough. Wet your hand as needed. You have completed one round of stretch and folds. Repeat 2 more rounds of this step, in intervals of 30-45 minutes. Let the dough rise until it has at least doubled its original volume.
5. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured worksurface and cut up a 140 grams of dough and set aside. Shape each piece of dough into a ball.
6. Brush the larger dough ball with water and coat with poppy seeds or seed of your choice. Gently flatten the smaller dough and roll it out to a 2mm thick round. Brush the center with some olive oil and sides with water.
7. Now use this sheet of dough round to cover the larger dough ball, with the oiled side under, and fold in at the bottom. Place the shaped dough ball, seam side up, into a well floured bread basket. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and leave it in the fridge for 8-16 hours to proof.
8. Preheat the oven to 250C/500F with a baking stone in the middle and a baking tray at the bottom.
9. Turn out the dough onto a piece of baking paper and dust the dough generously with flour. Use a sharp knief to make a cross on the dough. Score a leaf cut on each part of the cross (cut a straight line in the middle of each part of the cross and 3-4 small, decorative diagonal slashes, so that it resembles a leaf).
10. Transfer the bread together with the baking paper on the hot baking stone and pour about a cup of water into the baking tray at the bottom of the oven. Immediately close the oven door and bake the bread for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 190C/375F and bake for a further 20-35 minutes. Remove the bread and place it on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2022 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com