Wild Bread with Olivesbased on the recipe for basic sourdough in Piano Piano Pieno by Susan McKenna Grant

salt measurement corrected 14 November 2007

wild yeast starter . wild yeast feeding . yeasted starter . build up (day before baking) . bread (day of baking)

wild yeast starter

tsp liquid honey (unpasteurized) c (~60gm) rye flour, dividedwater*unbleached all-purpose flourpreparation

Day 1 Evening In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp (30gm) water, honey and c (30gm) rye flour. Cover with plastic and leave in a warm draftfree spot (counter in summer, oven with only light turned on in winter) overnightDay 2 Morning Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and c rye flour. Cover and leave etc.Day 2 Evening Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp (30gms) unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Day 3 Morning Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Day 3 Evening Its likely that you will see bubbles by now. These are the first kind of bacteria that is produced harmless but not the kind to make bread rise) Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Day 4 Morning Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Day 4 Evening Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Continue the process for 5 to 14 days. You will notice the bubbles will start to increase. When there is lots of activity and the mixture doubles in the 12 hour time period, youre ready for the next step to make the starter in preparation for baking the next day.Penultimate Baking Day Morning Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (discard the rest) and stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Penultimate Baking Day Midday The mixture should have doubled and there should be lots of bubbling. These are caused by the second kind of bacteria that is produced beneficial and the kind to make bread rise) Take 2 Tbsp of above mixture (reserve the rest to add to focaccia dough or make crackers with it dont burn them as I did!!). Stir in 2 Tbsp water and 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave etc.Penultimate Baking Day Evening Stir c (~85gm) water and c (~85gm) unbleached all-purpose flour into ALL of the above mixture. Cover and leave etc.Baking Day Morning Take 2 Tbsp (30 gm) of above mixture (reserve the rest for making bread) and stir in 2 Tbsp (30 gm) water and 3 Tbsp (30 gm) unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover and leave for 2 hours on the counter. Put it into a covered glass jar and store in refrigerator.Feed the starter every 3 days: Take 2 Tbsp (30gm) of the refrigerated mixture discard the extra (or add it to muffins or batter or) and stir in 2 Tbsp (30gm) water and 2 3 Tbsp (30gm) unbleached all-purpose flour. To use the refrigerated starter for baking, begin at the step for penultimate baking day morning.

*Tap water is fine to use just make sure that it has stood for at least 12 hours so that the chlorine has dissipated.

bread

3 c (720ml)** unbleached all-purpose flour c (120ml) wholewheat flour1 c (335ml) water c (65ml) wild yeast starter recipe2 tsp seasaltMorrocan style oil-cured black olivespreparation

Put all the ingredients except the olives into a bowl that is large enough for the mixture to triple. Stir together with a wooden spoon until the flour is encorporated. It will look a bit like slightly stiff oatmeal porridge. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.Turn the dough out of the bowl onto an unfloured work surface.Wash and dry the mixing bowl.Kneading: Without adding extra flour, knead the dough until it is smooth and silky (5 to 10 minutes). Let your dough scraper (a spatula works) be your friend if the dough is sticking to the board. One hand scrapes the dough and the other kneads. Under no circumstances should you add more flour. If you find your kneading hand is sticking to much, just scrape off the excess with the scraper and continue. Dont worry when the dough doesnt resemble a pillow. Use the dough scraper to squoosh the dough into the clean bowl. Cover with a clean damp tea towel (or use one of those elasticized reusable plastic covers that look like shower hats) and allow to rise in a draftfree area of the counter for 80 minutes.After 80 minutes has passed, very lightly dust the work surface with flour. Carefully turn the dough out (try not to disturb any bubbles). Using the bread scraper and still trying not to disturb any bubbles, fold the left side into the center, then the top into the center, then the right side, then the bottom. As you lift it into the bowl, fold it in half once more. Try to place it in the bowl smooth side up. Cover. Let it ferment at room temperature for 80 minutes again.Repeat the above step. On this final time, the dough will look more like the smooth soft pillow that is described in books. The amount of dusting flour used in these folding maneuvres is not much more than tablespoon and probably much less (sorry, I havent measured). Allow to rise at room temperature until the dough has just doubled.Pit and roughly chop the the olives. Set aside.Shaping: When the dough has doubled, sprinkle a small amount of flour on the work surface. Gently turn the dough out, disturbing it as little as possible. Cut the dough in half. Scatter some of the olives overtop. Gently fold (try not to disturb the bubbles) the left side into the center, then the top, then the right side then the bottom. Scatter the rest of the olives. Fold in half. Turn it over. Continue to fold it underneath itself to form an even tight ball without actually deflating the dough. (When I shape the dough, I hold it the way I would hold a wild bird firmly enough so it wont escape but gently so as not to harm it.) Place the shaped bread seam side down on a parchment covered peel. Balance a cookie cutter on top of the shaped bread and sprinkle generously all over with flour. Cover with a clean damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for an hour or more until the dough is about doubled. To test, flour your finger and press gently on the edge it should very slowly spring back. For comparison, try pressing early on to see how it quickly springs back when the dough has not risen enough.Baking: Thirty minutes before you are going to bake, put the baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and turn it to 500F.At the time of baking, gently remove the cookie cutters and spray the top of each boule liberally with water. Put the bread in oven and immediately turn the oven down to 425F. Bake the bread for a total of 40 to 45 minutes or until it has an internal temperature of about 210F. Half way through the baking, turn the bread around to account for uneven heat in the oven.Turn off the oven. Put the finished bread back in the oven and leave with the door ajar for 5 or 10 minutes. Then, remove to cool on a rack. Wait til the bread is cool before cutting it. It is still continuing to bake inside! If you wish to serve warm bread, reheat it after it has cooled completely.To reheat unsliced bread, turn the oven to 500F for 5 minutes or so. Turn the oven OFF. Put the bread in the hot oven for ten minutes.

** Please note that even though a Canadian cup holds 250ml, I always measure flour with my half cup measure, which holds 125ml. The official Canadian half cup holds 120ml. (Why is the half cup not exactly half of a cup?? I have NO idea. Maybe the Canadians who were setting the measuring cup standards had difficulty with fractions in school)