Name: Pane Casareccio (Homemade Country Bread)
Yield: Makes 3 loaves
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast or 1/10 small cake fresh yeast; ¼ cup warm water; ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature; ¼ cup warm water, 105° to 115°F. for dry yeast, 95° to 105°F. for fresh; 2½ cups (about 11 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast or ½ cake ⅓ ounce) fresh yeast; 2⅓ cups water; 1 cup (about 8 ounces) biga measured at room temperature; Cornmeal for the baking stone(s); 1 tablespoon sea salt; About 5½ to 5¾ cups (about 1¾ pounds) unbleached all-purpose flour

Preparation info

Makes
3
loaves

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

In Nonna's Kitchen

By Carol Field

Published 1997

About

Flour, water, salt, and yeast: the breads of the Italian countryside combine four of the most basic ingredients on earth to create delicious country loaves with thick chewy crusts. Many years ago I learned to bake Italian country bread with Nella Galletti at her home in the Umbrian countryside and later discovered that Annita di Fonzo Zannella makes bread the same way. Nella made traditiona