Pugliese (pool-ee-AY-zee) … light, airy, full of holes, and unadorned
How to make a great, light Pugliese bread
I found this recipe. It can be made into round loaves, but I’ve enjoyed much more baking in bread pans. It’s a two-day recipe.
Day 1Make the biga, a starter for your Pugliese, before you go to bed.
- 1 1/4 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/8 tsp yeast
Mix all and place in an oiled bowl (I use Pam). Cover and leave overnight.
Day 2
In the morning, add the following to your biga:
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp salt
Knead well and cover in an oil-treated bowl.
It’s nice if you can knead during the day, but it’s not absolutely necessary for this very tolerant bread.
I often come home at dinner time, knead, and cover for an hour.
Then, after the hour or so, I knead again, split the dough into halves, roll each dough half and place into a Pam’d bread pan. Let rise for 90 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 450•.
Cook for 25 minutes. You can, optionally, for crustier bread, remove the bread from the pans after 25 minutes, turn off the oven, and leave the bread in the oven for another 10 or 15 minutes.
This bread is great for sandwiches and toast. It’s light with a hearty taste.
VariationsYou can use, of course, other than white bread flours. I’ve found that what works best for me is to make the biga with white bread flour, and then replace one of the four cups of white flour with rye or whole wheat or something else.
You can also keep the recipe the same and add a teaspoon of caraway seeds for a nice variation. Rosemary is always a hit. But, again, I don’t often add other ingredients. I’m crazy about this as a plain sandwich/toast bread.
Another website, Artisan Bread Baking, has another recipe. It's more technical and is in grams. Check it out, too.
