Free Baking by Hand by Andy King Page A

to not keep the oven door open too long and let the heat out, open the oven, slide your loaf onto the stone, throw the three ice cubes into the cast-iron pan and close the door. After 5 minutes, quickly open the door and spray the interior of the oven with water. Continue baking until the loaf is evenly browned, about 25 minutes, and has a nice hollow thump when you tap it on the bottom. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.
    ENGLISH MUFFIN TOASTING BREAD
    YE OLDE BAKESHOPPE BREADE
    Oh boy, do we love this bread created by baker Sara P. (or as we call her, “the duck”). It’s the one we love to bring home, toast up with homemade jams, snack on at the bakery and have on weekend mornings. We use three different leaveners in this bread: wild yeast from the liquid starter (for tang), commercial yeast (for a quick rise) and baking soda (for a uniformly open crumb). It’s worth investing in a square-sided Pullman pan just for this bread, because it’s so easy to make and will become a family favorite at your house, too. You’ll need a bit of semolina flour to coat your pan and garnish the loaf.
OVERVIEW
    • Yield: One 3-lb/1.5-kg Pullman loaf
    • Desired Dough Temperature: 85°F/30°C
    • Mixing Time: 40 minutes
    • Proofing Time: 3+ hours
    • Baking Time: 40+ minutes
    • Cooling Time: 3+ hours
12 HOURS BEFORE THE BAKE
    Mix your final starter (see here ). This will be enough for the bread formula, plus some extra to carry on the starter.
    10 oz/280 ml 75°F/20°C water
    2 oz/40 ml liquid sourdough
    8 oz/230 g white bread flour
BAKING DAY
    1 lb 1.75 oz/500 g white bread flour
    1.5 oz/40 g whole wheat flour
    1.5 oz/45 g granulated sugar
    ¼ tsp/1 g baking soda
    2 tsp/15 g fine sea salt
    ¾ tsp/3 g instant yeast
    10.25 oz/290 g liquid starter
    15.5 oz/440 ml 80°F/25°C water
    1.5 oz/45 g milk powder
    Semolina flour, for dusting
    Combine your flours, sugar, baking soda, salt and yeast into your large mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine your liquid starter, water and milk powder, and remember to keep that water warm to give your yeast a comfortable atmosphere to grow. Then, dump your dry ingredients on top of the liquid ingredients, and mix it by hand for about 30 seconds, until it resembles a smooth batter. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated—a whisk might work better than your hands after a certain point. Set aside in a warm place, at least 80°F/25°C, for 30 minutes. If you’re having trouble finding your warm place, it’s time to use your trusty heat lamp.
    After an hour, you’re going to fold your dough, but the process will look a lot different with this particular dough. We call it the “flop”: Reach intothe bowl and, with two hands, scoop the top quarter of the batter and flop it toward the middle. Do this for the bottom, and then both sides, and then repeat the flop a second time. Cover the bowl and set aside in your warm place for another hour.

    In the meantime, oil your Pullman pan, and coat the entire inside with semolina flour by scooping a cup into the pan and knocking it around a bit. Dump out the excess. Pour the batter into the pan, and spread it around a bit to even out the surface. Put the loaf back into your warm place for the final rise. If you have a deep plastic bin, cover the pan with that, as a cloth or plastic will stick to the surface as the dough rises. If not, just keep an eye out for the surface drying and spritz accordingly.
    After 1 more hour, the batter will have risen to about ½ inch/1 cm from the surface of the pan. If it’s not there yet, just hold on until it is. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400°F/200°C and arrange the racks so that the pan can cook on the baking stone and not bump into the rack above. When your dough is finally ready, sprinkle the surface with a dusting of semolina flour and slide the pan directly onto the stone. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the surface is dark brown and the sides