Peasant bread

To prepare 'pane cafone', you will need to make 3 different doughs. Let's start with the first: take 2.5 oz of your sourdough starter (Sourdough starter from GialloZafferano), or get the sourdough from your trusted bakery, and place it in a bowl along with the water 1. Dissolve the yeast with your hands 2, then gradually add the all-purpose flour 3 and

knead until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough, which you will shape into a ball 4. Let this first dough rise for at least 3 hours in the bowl, lightly floured, covered with plastic wrap, in the turned-off oven with the light on. The initial volume should double after the time has passed 6.

Now it's time to proceed with the second dough: in a larger bowl, dissolve the previous dough with another 1.7 oz of water (7-8), add the all-purpose flour 9 and

knead everything together, as you did before 10. Place the second dough to rise for at least 3 hours in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, in the turned-off oven with the light on 11. When the second dough has also risen 12, you can move on to making the final dough.

Pour the risen dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle (if you don't have one, you can knead by hand) and add half of the 18.6 oz of water 13; start the machine at low speed to dissolve the dough, then, once dissolved, gradually add the flour, a tablespoon at a time 14, alternating with the remaining water, in which you have dissolved the salt. When the ingredients have gathered around the paddle, detach it and attach the hook 15, with which you will knead everything for at least 10 minutes at low speed. The dough should cling to the hook and pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Pour the well-soft dough onto a lightly floured work surface: you need to give it folds to strengthen the dough so that the rise develops upwards. Stretch the dough slightly with your hands 16, giving it a rectangular shape, then fold the first side towards the center and do the same with the other, overlapping it (17-18).

Flip the dough, stretch it a little 19 and repeat the folds as before, folding the sides towards the center (20-21). Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. After this time, perform the folds again, as previously illustrated, and let it rest for another 15-20 minutes.

At this point, if you want to get two loaves, divide the dough into two equal parts, with which you can form two loaves or two baguettes 22. If you prefer, you can also make a single loaf. Now proceed this way for the loaves: lightly knead a piece, gathering the sides towards the center, flatten it slightly 23, then roll the dough onto itself, starting from one side 24, pressing with your fingers downwards and rolling it to the end. If you want a loaf, fold the two ends of the baguette underneath and round the dough.

Pinch the top edge of the loaf with your fingers to adhere the dough 25. The first loaf is ready 26, proceed in the same way with the second piece of dough. Now take a baking tray and line it with two clean cloths, placed next to each other and well folded to create a divider in the center, well floured with semolina 27.

Place the loaves each on a cloth 28, sprinkle them with plenty of semolina, and close the edges of the cloths to cover the bread 29. Cover the tray with plastic wrap (not too tight, otherwise there will be no space for the rise) or place it in a large food bag 30. The 'pane cafone' should rise for 8-10 hours.

After this time, the loaves will be well swollen and ready for baking 31. Preheat the static oven to 464°F, leaving the baking sheet inside on which the loaves will bake (it is recommended, for those who have it, to place a baking stone at the bottom of the oven instead of the baking sheet), which should be very hot. If you have a convection oven, set the temperature to 428°F. Grabbing the edges of the cloth, flip a loaf at a time onto a sheet of parchment paper 32: don't touch the bread too much, or it will deflate! Using a smooth and very sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 33. You can also choose not to cut it if you prefer.

Slide the parchment paper onto the very hot baking sheet 34 and before putting the bread in the oven, spray some cold water in the oven for 3-4 times using a spray bottle 35. Alternatively, you can place a pan containing 3-4 ice cubes at the bottom of the oven. Put the bread in the oven and spray more water 3-4 times. Place the bread 1/3 of the way up the oven height (so quite low) and let it bake for about 20 minutes in a static oven (in a convection oven for 30 minutes). After this time, lower the temperature to 392°F (356°F if convection) and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, remove the bread and place it to cool on a wire rack. Your 'pane cafone' is ready 36: you'll taste how good it is!