How to make the IMPASTO PER PANE:
Method 1:
Place the flour on a wooden board and make a hole in the center.
Dissolve the yeast in a cup of lukewarm water and place in the middle.
Work the mixture with the tips of your fingers, adding the rest of the
lukewarm water a little bit at a time and the salt, until the dough no
longer sticks to your fingers. Knead the dough for an additional 15 min.
Form a ball, make a cross-shaped cut with a sharp knife on the top. Wrap
in a dry cloth and let it rest in a warm place for half an hour, or
until doubled in size.
Start
working the dough again, energetically, for another 15 min. Make a
ball, cover it and let it rest for 6 hours. It should again double its
volume and become elastic. It is now ready for baking, in any desired
shape. (To obtain a darker color, there is an old fashioned custom of
adding a teaspoon of sugar to the flour before mixing.)
Method 2:
There is also another, more elaborate method of preparing the dough.
Dissolve the yeast in a cup of lukewarm water and work with a few
teaspoons of flour until it forms a soft preliminary dough. Allow to
rise in a warm place. When the dough has doubled in size, work in the
rest of the flour with more lukewarm salted water, kneading continually
until the dough has a smooth, even texture. Allow to rise until doubled
in size once more, and work again, allowing it to rise a third, final
time.
In the bakery, but also at home, when people used to make bread regularly,
beer yeast was substituted with a special bread leavening agent
consisting of a small piece of fermented dough watered down with
lukewarm water to a fluid paste, which was then used to make the
preliminary dough. This method takes much longer for the bread to rise,
but the result is a particularly soft, fragrant and aromatic bread.
Recipe courtesy of The Italian Trade Commission
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