Beard on Bread (10 page)

This is a deliciously crunchy loaf with a texture quite different from that of most other breads, although it is somewhat similar to oatmeal bread. I find it best freshly sliced and toasted, and make it often to use for breakfast, since it is a good keeper. It makes a beautiful, well-risen loaf that should be thoroughly cooled before slicing. Don’t let the smell of it tempt you into cutting a big chunk off while it is still hot.

[2 loaves]

Pour the cornmeal into the boiling water with the salt and stir vigorously until it cooks thick (about 4 minutes). Place it in a large mixing bowl to cool. Proof the yeast with the granulated sugar in the water, then pour into the mixing bowl with the cooled cornmeal mixture. Mix well. Add the warm milk, salt, brown sugar, and flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring very well after each addition of flour. When the mixture is well blended and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, turn out on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 to 12 minutes, adding more flour as needed. Butter a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with the butter on all sides. Cover and set in a warm, draft-free place to double in bulk.

Punch the dough down and turn out on a lightly floured board. Cut in half, shape into two loaves, and let rest while you butter two 9 × 5 × 3-inch tins. Place the dough in the tins, cover, and let rise again until
almost doubled in bulk, or just level with the tops of the baking tins. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350° and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread is nicely browned and sounds hollow when removed from the tins and rapped with the knuckles on top and bottom. Place the loaves, without tins, on the oven rack for a few minutes, to crisp the crust. Cool on racks before slicing.

This rather unusual bread is delicate and moist, with an intriguing cheese bouquet and flavor. It is ideal for sandwiches, it toasts extremely well, and it makes excellent crumbs when a cheese-flavored topping for certain dishes is called for. You may, of course, combine the crumbs with a little additional grated Parmesan cheese.

[2 loaves]

Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in ¼ cup of the warm water and allow to proof. In a large bowl, mix 5 cups of flour and the salt. Make a well in the center and add the remaining 1½ cups warm water, the butter, the Tabasco, and the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula or with your floured hands until the dough is well amalgamated. Turn out on a heavily floured board (use about ½ cup flour) and knead for 10 to 12 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and rather satiny in texture and all the flour on the board is absorbed; add flour if you need it. Place the dough in a buttered or oiled bowl and turn to coat on all sides. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours or slightly more.

Punch down the dough, turn it out on a lightly floured board, and knead in the cheeses. When thoroughly blended, cut the dough in half and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll out each half into a rectangle about 11 × 6 inches and let rest for 2 or 3 minutes more. Roll each rectangle up,
pinching the edges as you do so, and
tucking in the ends
so that the loaf measures about 4½ × 7½ inches. Place the dough in two well-buttered 8 × 4 × 2-inch tins, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until the bread has reached the top of the tin or slightly higher, or has more or less doubled in size.

Bake on the center of the middle rack in a preheated 375° oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when removed from the tins and rapped with the knuckles on both top and bottom. Bake directly on the oven rack, without the tins, for a few minutes to firm the crust. Cool the bread on racks before slicing.

• Instead of the butter, use ⅓ cup peanut oil or olive oil. Also use oil for the baking tins.

• Use fresh Parmesan or Romano only—a little over a cup—or use a mixture of the two.

• Use shredded sharp Cheddar instead of the Gruyère cheese.

• Bake as one loaf in a 10 × 4½ × 3-inch pan, which will make a thicker, more concentrated loaf and will take slightly longer to bake.

This is a recipe of Edward Giobbi’s, from his delightful book,
Italian Family Cooking.
“The literal translation of
caccia nanza,”
says Mr. Giobbi, “is ‘take out before.’ When bread was made in traditional Italian households a bit of dough was reserved to make a pizza. The pizza was placed in the oven with the bread and obviously cooked more quickly. It was ‘taken out before’ the bread, hence the name. Caccia Nanza is a specialty of Castel di Lama in the Marches. This is the only garlic bread I have ever eaten in Italy,” Mr. Giobbi concludes. It is perfectly delicious, I might add. It’s good with antipasti, or pasta, and the rather flat loaf may be cut in wedges or broken off in pieces.

[1 round loaf]

“Preheat the oven to 400°.

“Combine the flour, salt, yeast, and water in a mixing bowl. Blend well, then turn the dough onto a lightly floured board. Knead well, for about 15 minutes, and shape the dough into a ball. Place it in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until double its size, about 1 to 1½ hours.

“Turn the dough onto the board and knead once more. Put it back into the bowl and let rise again. Then punch down the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured board. Roll it out to ½-inch thickness. Rub the surface of a baking sheet with oil. Transfer the round of dough to a baking sheet. Make indentations over the surface of the dough and insert a thin sliver of garlic and a bit of rosemary into each indentation. Pour the olive oil over the pizza and rub gently with the hands. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the garlic before serving. Serves 4 to 6.”

Gluten bread is not only low in calories, it is also a dietetic bread for those suffering with diabetes and other illnesses. Making it is a fascinating lesson in what gluten does: the dough will resist you when you knead, will try to contract when you spread it out, but the resulting loaf is worth the battle.

It is sometimes difficult to find gluten flour—which is very high in protein, fairly high in carbohydrates, and very low in fat—but you are most apt to find it in health food shops.

[1 loaf]