Living in the Midwest for so many years I did not realize that there are so many foods regional to certain areas, after all, we live in the era of national brands. So I was bummed that I could no longer find my favorite artisan Portuguese bread. Or even any Portuguese style bread. So I had to learn how to make it.
This bread has a crispy crust (without need of a water reserve in oven) and a delicate, earthy, firm, and airy inside. It's the best!
It take some time with the biga forming and dough rising but hands on work is only about 10-15 minutes maximum. So I consider it an easy recipe. Since the biga takes 10-12 hours and there's 3 hours rising time plus another half hour rising time, it is not a candidate for a last minute thing.
First, you will need a stand mixer to make this dough. The dough is a bit too runny and sticky to knead by hand and it's the stickiness that makes it good bread.
After much trial and tribulation, I came up with a great bread and this recipe makes a bread that is consistent. It does turn out better in the summer than winter but if your house or apartment kitchen is a bit chilly it will still work if you set the bowl somewhere warm to rise or allow extra time for it to rise.
Proofing yeast is always a good idea. Better to give the yeast a few minutes to prove it's viable than to go through all the time and work and find out it's not. It usually starts getting bubbly within a minute or two and then you'll know it's good.
Biga
1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 c lukewarm water
3/4 c flour
The biga is a bit like sour dough starter but only needs 10-12 hours to ferment to the right product.
To make the biga, mix the ingredients the night before baking. I usually make it Friday or Saturday night before going to bed or when I think of it before bedtime, so around 9:00-9:30 at night. It can go over 12 hours if needed.
In a glass bowl, add 1/4 tsp yeast to 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Proof yeast and stir in 3/4 c flour. It will be a bit stiff, like a scone batter. Cover tightly with Saran wrap and set on the counter overnight.
For winter biga, you can use 1/2 cup lukewarm water in the biga but then account for that extra liquid in rest of process.
In the morning (or whenever 12 hours later is) when you lift the saran wrap the big should be bubbly, be more liquid than solid, and smell fermented. It reminds me of the smell of beer the most. If it has that fermented smell then it's ready to go. If it doesn't, give it a few more hours. In the nearly 100 times I've made this bread the biga only failed once. I didn't even have to smell it before knowing that it had failed because it was still almost a solid clump and it had no bubbles or fermented smell when I lifted the saran wrap.
Bread
1 tsp yeast
water
1-2 tsp salt
3 c flour
Put 1/4 c lukewarm water in mixer bowl. Add 1 tsp yeast.
At this point you can proof the yeast by giving it 3-5 minutes to see if it starts activating. If it's viable and active it will start to bubble and move around a bit. By the time I prepare the biga to add it's usually long enough to see if it's viable.
Add 1/4 c water to biga and stir fairly well. (if you did the winter version with 1/2 c it will be runny enough not to need to add more water.)
Add biga to mixer bowl with 1/2 c water and 1-2 tsp salt
Add 2 c flour
Use paddle to mix. Start at low. Once flour is worked in, continue mixing on medium for 3-4 minutes.
The dough will look elasticy, long strands visible as the paddle moves through the dough.
Now switch to dough hook and add 1 c flour. Mix another 3-5 minutes. As the hook moves the dough it will grab the flour along the sides of the bowl. Once the sides are fairly free of flour and/or dough, it's done.
Coat a large bowl with some oil. I use olive oil but vegetable oil will due in a pinch. I use a big metal mixing bowl. Transfer dough into oil lined bowl, give it a flip so both sides are coated in oil. Use the Saran wrap from biga to cover dough. Let sit for about 3 hours until dough is tripled in size.
Start oven now. 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sprinkle some flour on baking sheet. Shape dough into loaf shape. Set on floured baking sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes. Oven should heat for that half hour so that it's hot when dough goes in.
Score top of loaf with knife. Two or three cuts across the top are good.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Bread will be golden brown and sound hollow when giving it a knuckle tap.
Let cool on rack.
It's tough to resist cutting into it too soon as it smells so good but wait at least an hour. It will still be warm enough to melt butter after an hour.
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