Pane Siciliano

As you can see, this was a uniquely shaped bread.  It also took 3 days to make.  Day 1 was for the biga (pre-ferment).  On day 2, the rest of the ingredients were mixed and the loaves were shaped.  To shape the loaves, I divided the risen dough into 3 similarly sized pieces and shaped them as I would a baguette.  Then I curled them in on opposite sides of the loaf to make the S-shape of the loaves.  A spray of water and sprinkling of black sesame seeds on top, and the loaves were placed in the refrigerator to retard overnight.

Day 3 was finally baking day and it was worth it.  This bread was amazing.  A nice nutty flavor from the long ferments.  I definitely look forward to making this again.

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