He crystal bread It is the minimum expression of what a bread can be: all crust, barely any crumb. Ideal to open in half, toast and drizzle with a splash of olive oil or rub with tomato. Enjoying it for breakfast seems like the best option to me, although it accepts all kinds of fillings and as a snack at snack time I wouldn’t make it look ugly.
It is a version of the popular ciabatta bread, a flattened bread with beautiful alveoli in the crumb. The cause of this scandal is the high level of hydration of the dough, which is quite sticky and soft. But, thanks to this, the aeration of the crumb is enormous; Crystal bread is all crust or almost.
It is not a difficult bread to make, because the folding system of the mass he has no science. The most cumbersome thing is handling such a soft dough when cutting the pieces and transferring them to the baking tray. Nothing that can’t be solved with a little care and sprinkling a good amount of flour.
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In a large bowl we mix all the ingredients. We will obtain a soft mixture that we let rest for ten minutes, covering the container with a clean, dry cloth. Since the dough is very hydrated and sticky, you can only work with folds. Classic kneading does not work.
For this you have to wet your hand, put it under the dough, between it and the wall of the bowl, lift one side of the dough, stretching it carefully, and let it fall on top of the rest of the dough. We then do the same with the opposite side. You have to be delicate and pull gently, trying not to tear it.
We make folds, alternating the meaning of them, every 30 minutes for two or two and a half hours. That is, we repeat it between four and six times. We will see that the dough thins, becomes more elastic, acquires structure and tends to maintain a certain height, instead of remaining flat.
Once the dough has acquired structure after four to six fold-rest cycles, we flour the table and we dump the dough, trying not to lose air. We also flour the surface of the dough and let it rest for ten more minutes.
Next we flour our hands, put them underneath and we stretch the dough gently, forming a rectangle about two centimeters high. With a floured scraper, cut the dough into nine portions and transfer them to a tray lined with parchment paper.
So that they do not become deformed, it is best use the scraper. We slide it under each portion, lift it gently and place it on the baking tray. If they become deformed, we carefully reposition them to give them a uniform shape.
We cover the tray with plastic (I use a garbage bag and, so that it doesn’t stick to the bread, I place four glasses in the corners and another in the center). We let it ferment for 20-30 minutes, at room temperature, until they fluff up a little more (they don’t need to double; they were already slightly fermented when we cut them).
We place the tray in the oven, preheated to 240ºC, with heat up and down, and cook them for 25 minutes. So that the crust is crispy It is advisable to place a container with water at the base of the oven (we can have it ready before putting the bread in).
The last five minutes we turn the loaves and we let the base dry and brown. Once ready, we transfer the breads to a rack where we let them cool completely before consuming…although warm they are a real vice!
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What to accompany crystal bread with
Any time is good to enjoy the crystal bread. My favorite is breakfast, accompanied by a cup of freshly infused tea, although at snack time I don’t mind it. It is delicious and its crunchy texture is addictive. Make a lot of them because they will fly out of your kitchen.
In DAP | Cheese and potato bread in a skillet
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The news
Crystal bread, recipe for a crusty and ethereal bread that is perfect for breakfasts and snacks
was originally published in
Straight to the Palate
by Carmen Tía Alia.