Ah yes, I can smell it now... fresh bars of bread
from a panaderķa. Mmm. The texture and flavor is hard to find in the American
supermarket. I searched in vain for a recipe for spanish bread. Finally, I
begged a kind baker in Spain to reveal his secret to the magical delight. Here
is the real recipe, in all its glory. Mind you, it isn't the easiest to make,
but oh the rewards.
First, you need 1&1/2 TBS of bread yeast, 3 cups warm water,
7 cups of white flour, two teaspoons of salt, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.
Mix the yeast in the warm water let sit in a warm place for
10 minutes. Mix the salt with the flour and run through a
fine mesh, allowing it to fall into a large bowl. Using your
fingers, mix in the oil or butter. Slowly pour in the raised
yeast while working the dough with your hands so as to produce
a firm dough. Place the dough on a flat surface with some
flour sprinkled on it. Knead the dough until it becomes firm
and elastic.
Grease the bowl and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl
with a moist sheet and set in a warm place until the dough
has doubled in volume.
Once again, remove the dough and knead it again over a
floured tabletop, to remove air pockets and until the dough
feels smooth. Return the dough to a covered bowl and let
it rest. 15 minutes should be sufficient.
Cut the dough as desired to form bars, loafs or balls and
place on greased pans. Cut slits in top of bread as desired.
Let bread raise on pans 30 more minutes or until the tops
of the bars begin to flatten.
Place in a very hot oven (450 degrees F) for 30 o 50 minutes,
or until the tops of the bars become toasted and they sound
hollow when knocked on the bottom. Remove the bread from the
pans and let cool.
This recipe comes from a panadero. It may not come out
exactly right the first time, but with practices the results
are incredible. I've made a few mistakes, but now it comes
out perfect and has that panaderķa flavor.
Feel free to share this recipe with your friends, as long as you include my
name and web address, so
others can contact me with comments. Thanks!
Real Spanish Food Recipes - http://www.xmission.com/~dderhak/recipes.html
Dean Derhak - dderhak@xmission.com
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