Italian Country Bread

This flavorous country bread comes from the heel of Italy, Apulia. It has tenderness from the olive oil, lots of taste from the biga, and a deep crust into the bargain. Were it made by an Italian farmer’s wife and taken to the village bakehouse to be cooked, it would be proved in a cloth-lined basket and turned out on to a baker’s peel before being slipped on to the floor of the oven. The same technique can be followed at home but manoeuvring this soft loaf on to a peel and slipping it on t