Scali Bread

I've been on a total bread baking kick recently. I just made ciabatta, which was delicious (!), but we ate it too fast to take any pictures. SO, when I found this recipe, I had to try it. It's from King Arthur Flour, which I love. Here's the recipe:

SCALI BREAD

Recipe From: King Arthur Flour 

Starter:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 water

1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

Make the starter the night before (just mix it all up, it will be like a normal dough). It's stiffer than most starters I've used, but don't worry - that's normal.

Dough

Starter

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2/3 cup warm-ish water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the dough with a bread hook (or by hand) until the dough forms into a uniform dough. I think it took about 5-10 minutes with a bread hook. When done, place dough in large bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 90 minutes. When 90 minutes are up, form three "logs" and let them rest for 10 minutes. 

Topping

1 egg white + 1 tablespoon cold water

Sesame seeds and Poppy seeds

When 10 minutes have elapsed, pull the dough out as long as it will go to form 3 "ropes." Coat each rope in the egg wash topping and sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or anything else. Pinch one end and braid the ropes. Pinch the other end to seal. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap (loosely), and let sit for 90 minutes. Finally, bake bread in 425 degree oven for 25-35 minutes. 

More detailed instructions, and instructions on how to make this bread into rolls, can be found HERE