Recipe
Pierre Gagnaire
ITALIAN BREAD

Ingredients

serves 4

  • 560g T55 flour
  • 560g spring water
  • 14g salt
  • 15g baker’s yeast
  • 40g sugar
  • 150g butter
  • 2 egg yolks (or 40g)

Recipe

  1. The starter:
    Bring 60g of water to 30°. Whisk in 1g of baker’s yeast until dissolved. Add 60g of T55 flour to the mixture and leave to rest for 3 hours at room temperature.
  2. Kneading:

    Bring 500g of water to 30° and add the remaining 14g of yeast and the 60g of starter mix.
    Whisk well until you have a smooth, lump-free consistency.
    Place in a mixer with dough hook attached and beat slowly.
    Add the rest of the flour (500g), the sugar (40g) and salt (10g) all at once. Keep mixing until a perfectly smooth dough is formed. Still with the mixer at a slow speed, add the 150g of softened butter in one go.
    Knead until the butter is fully incorporated into the dough (which should have a smooth, even consistency without being too elastic). Tip the dough out of the mixing bowl and wrap well in cling film, bearing in mind that it is going to increase in size.

  3. The glaze:
    Mix the 40g of egg yolks with the 4g of remaining salt; leave to rest until the salt completely dissolves - about 1 hour.
  4. Shaping:

    Roll the dough into a rectangular shape until it is 1cm thick. Do not use any extra flour.
    Transfer this large rectangle onto baking paper and leave in the freezer for 20 mins to firm the dough up and make it easier to slice. When you take it out of the freezer, dry the dough thoroughly by wiping it down with a paper towel. Use a knife to cut little rectangles that are 2cm wide and 8cm long, with 3cm between each. Glaze the top of each little roll with a brush, taking care not to let the glaze spill over the edges.

  5. Leave in the fridge until the glaze does not stick to your fingers when touched.
  6. Rising and baking:

    Place a container of warm water and the tray of rolls in a turned-off oven, close the door and leave to rise. When the rolls have doubled in size take the tray out of the oven and leave at room temperature. Heat the oven to 150°, place the tray of rolls back inside and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

  7. Remove the rolls from the tray and leave to cool slightly. Eat while still warm.

Créateur d'émotions depuis 1684