Pane con la ricotta
INGREDIENT LIST
3/4 cup warm water (105-115˚F
1 (1/4-oz) packet dry yeast ('usually use Rapid Rize yeast)
1/2 tsp sugar
3-2/3 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
(1 tsp cinnamon in original recipe)
(you can try some fresh chopped rosemary - 'tried 2 tsp, but it probably needed more)
1 cup plus 2 tsp fresh ricotta (about 9 oz) [haven't tried this
yet with the fresh ricotta, instead using half a pot (8-0z) ricotta you
buy in the dairy section]
ORIGINAL DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, stir together water, yeast and sugar; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes (not foamy?? start over)
2. Add 1-2/3 cup flour, and using a wooden spoon, stir mixture together
until flakey. Use hands to knead into a mass. Cover bowl with a clean,
slightly dampened dish-towel and let rise in a draft-free place at room
temperature until doubled in bulk.
3. In a medium bowl, combine salt with 1/2 cup lulewarm water and whisk
until salt is dissoved. Add 1/4 cup oil and cinnamon; whisk together
and set aside.
4. Pass ricotta through a sieve into a large bowl; transfer dough to
bowl with ricotta and work with hands to combine. Add water mixture and
2 cups flour, mix together with hands to combine.
5. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until compact
and uniform (dough will be loose at first; do not add flour), about 6
minutes. Cover with a slightly dampened dishtown and let rest for 30
minutes.
6. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; punch down to
deflate. Divide dough in half. Flatten one half into an oval about 9
inches long,; roll up lengthwise, pressing as you go to form a thight
log.
7. Place log, seam-side down, onto a clean well-floured dishtowel. Fold
sides of towel over dough to loosely cover. Repeat with remaining
dough. Let rest for 30 minutes.
8. Position two racks in oven; one in lower third and one just above.
Place a baking stone on the upper rack and a clean baking pan on the
rack underneath. Heat oven to 400˚
9. Turn out dough from towels onto a lightly floured baking pan,
leaving at least 3 inches between each. Cover with towels; let rise
until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
10. Dust loaves with flour and use a razor blade to slash tops in the
pattern of your choice. Place loaves on the baking stone ; place 6 or 7
ice cubes in the lower pan. Bake, potating pan with loaves about
half-way through, until crust is dark golden brown and loaves sound
hollow when tapped on bottom, about 45 minutes. Transfer loaves to wire
rack and cool completely.
WHAT I DO.
1. As above
2. Once the yeast is active, dump it, the olive oil, salt (sans 1/4 cup
water), ricotta (and herbs if using) in the bowel of your Kitchen Aid
Mixer with a whisk attached. Whisk to mix.
3. Replace whisk with a bread hook; add all the flour at once. Turn on
the mixer and knead; once the flour and liquids are incorporated, knead
for 6 or so minutes or more if it suits you. The dough should be not
quite tacky. It should have cleaned the sides of the bowel This is a
soft dough.
4. Remove dough from bowel, lightly oil the bowl, replace dough and
turn to coat the dough surface. Cover with plastic wrap. I run it into
the lower oven set at 115˚F until the dough has doubled. That should
take 40 minutes or less (read the Rapid Rize packet).
5. Punch the dough down and form into loaves; we usually do one round
or oval loaf. We use parchment paper on a cookie sheet, or cornmeal
otherwise, for the loaves
6. Cover with dampened towel and run back into the 115˚ oven until doubled.
7. Do #8 above
8. Do #10 above (We have found that for the large oval loaf,
cooking time was around 35 minutes, so this is something to watch. )