Vermont bread

Description

This bread is made from simple and understandable ingredients. It's so good that everyone loves it. Vermont is very convenient for those who work and can't (or don't want to) set and bake bread on the same day. Here's Jeffrey Hamelman's Vermont Bread recipe from Bread-A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes with a slight twist - I slightly increased the amount of whole wheat flour.

Cooking

Step 1

Make a paste by mixing all the ingredients. My dough fermented for 6 hours at a temperature of 24-25 degrees Celsius. In general, according to the recipe, it takes 8-10 hours, but I was guided by the state, since everything depends on external conditions (temperature, humidity) and the quality (“strength”) of the starter itself. As soon as your dough has approximately doubled in volume (raised) and has become all riddled with bubbles, it is ready for further use.

Step 2

Knead the dough by mixing all ingredients except salt. Leave for 30 min. for autolysis.

Step 3

Add salt and knead thoroughly with a mixer - you need to knead until the dough begins to move away from the walls of the bowl. Transfer the dough to another bowl, greased with vegetable oil, cover with a bag / cling film or lid and leave for 2 hours 30 minutes. for fermentation. During these 2 hours and 30 minutes. fold the dough twice (stretch and fold) at intervals of 50 minutes.

Step 4

The dough will rise during fermentation, but not much. Roll the dough into a ball and leave it again for 20 minutes, covered with a bag / cling film or a lid - the dough should rest. After rest, transfer the dough to a proofing basket, rubbed with flour and sprinkled with semolina or bran. Cover with plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate overnight. It turns out very convenient - in the evening you prepare the dough, and in the morning you can bake bread.

Step 5

The next day you need to take the dough out of the refrigerator (it will rise about twice). After 12 hours. Hold it for 50 min. at room temperature to warm it up. Then you can bake bread.

Step 6

You need to bake in the oven, preheated to 250 degrees, on a ceramic pan or stone.

Step 7

First, bake for 20 minutes, covering the top with a metal or ceramic cap (bowl) - this technique does not allow the dough to quickly lose moisture, and then another 15-20 minutes, removing the cap and lowering the temperature to 200 degrees (at this time a crust forms).

Step 8

Bread is obtained with a thin crust and an openwork crumb.