More Globetrotting Breads! BBA French Bread & Italian Bread

The more that I bake from the Bread Baker's Apprentice, the more completely I fall in love with making my own bread, and the happier I am about this bread baking challenge.  I always knew that you could make a really nice loaf of bread at home. I even knew that this loaf of bread would be better than the bread that you get at the store. But, there were certain breads that should never be attempted at home, these breads you had to get from a baker. In my family, French bread has always been the holy grail of bread. We nearly always had (have) a loaf of French bread with dinner because my dad loves his "pain," as he likes to say. This idea that you buy French bread at the bakery is so firmly planted in my mind that I was a bit nervous to try the French bread out.

Is French bread supposed to have holes inside? I don't think it is, but mine did. I suspect that this is because I didn't degas the dough enough? Or maybe it over proofed? I know there's an answer in the book, but I can't bring myself to get too worked up about it. You see, these were some great loaves of French bread! I couldn't believe they came out of my own kitchen. They were splintery hard on the outside, and tender on the inside; in short, this was fabulous bread. I figure if the bread that I made in my ancient oven that does.not.like to come up to 500 degrees even for a minute was this good, that this is a recipe for great French bread. The base of the dough is a pate fermente that is comprised of AP flour and bread flour mixed with water, salt, and yeast. This rises like a regular dough, is punched down, and rests in the fridge at least over night. Apparently this little ball of dough is responsible for the fabulous flavor and texture of this bread (well, that and the whole psuedo hearth baking thing). At any rate, this is a fabulous bread and I will definitely make it again. Note:  the recipe makes three loaves of bread . . . but Dudley & I devoured one loaf fresh from the oven.

Next up is Italian bread, the softer, more versatile friend of French bread. It's still a hearth bread, but this time with feeling. Italian bread gets its wonderful personality from a biga starter and the addition of some barley malt. If you're interested in barley malt or non-diastatic malt powder. If you're interested in what this does to bread, do a Google search because I won't be discussing it here. I'll tell you what I know, barley malt imparts flavor to breads and is called for in recipes for bagels and Italian bread. Also, barley malt syrup is ridiculously sticky; like, oh my gosh this is stickier and thicker than molasses sticky. So there. The Italian bread was another bread that I thought would be difficult but ended up being simple to make. As you might see in the picture, I need to work on my slashing technique, and I will, because I take slashing very seriously. I'd like to be an expert slasher someday.

If you know anything about Italian bread, you know it likes to party. Italian bread is great on its own, but it's also a great base for things like garlic bread and sandwiches. I made one loaf and 5 rolls, more party for me. I knew I wanted to make the rolls for some yummy sandwiches (to be posted soon). I loved the Italian bread, but I think French bread beats it. For anyone who cares to know, here are my top 3 BBA breads at this point:  1) ciabatta 2) French bread 3) Italian bread. Hmmm, methinks I like hearth breads!

Oh, and Italian bread likes to party, yes, but it has a serious side, too. That's why it can hang with the likes of Shakespeare and Dickens, as seen in the photo. I didn't pose the books with the bread, they were there, I was lazy, and, thus, the bread and the books get to party together in these pictures.