Italian Rustic Spinach Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off.
• In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
• Add warm water and oil, mix well with fork.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead at least 10 minutes until smooth.
• Spray a bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside, and cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel.
• Let rise in warm place (80-85F) for 30-40 minutes.
• Sprinkle ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal.
• Punch down dough and cover with inverted bowl, and rest for 15 minutes.
• Divide dough into two loaves.
• Roll out one loaf at a time into approximately 12"x14" and spread spinach mixture evenly all over surface.
• Roll up tightly tucking in sides and set aside on a cookie sheet that is lightly covered with cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel.
• Let loaves rise for another 30-40 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• With a sharp knife cut several deep diagonal slits on top of each loaf.
• Brush tops with beaten egg white.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
• Cool slightly and serve warm.
• Note: For freezing, cool completely and wrap in aluminum foil. Reheat in oven at 350F for 15 minutes.
• Filling Directions:.
• Place thawed spinach in large frying pan over low flame.
• Mix in the balance of ingredients and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes.
• Cool.
• With your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and set aside.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan; add the chopped onion and sauté until a light golden color. Add the spinach, stir well to combine and cover tightly.
• Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Then stir again and let the pan, uncovered, to cool.
• Place the spinach mixture in the bread machine pan. Add the water and egg.
• Sprinkle the bread flour, ensuring that it completely covers the liquid mixture.
• Now sprinkle the cheese inside.
• Place the salt and sugar in separate corners of the bread pan.
• Make a shallow indention in the center of the flour, add the yeast.
• Set the bread machine to the dough setting. Press start.
• Lightly flour 2 baking sheets.
• When the dough cycle has finished, remove the dough from the machine and place on a lightly floured surface, gently punch the dough down, then carefully roll it out to a rectangle about 1 inch thick.
• Roll up the dough from one long side to form a thick baton shape with a square end.
• Place the baton on the prepared baking sheet, seam side up, cover it with lightly oiled plastic wrap; set aside to rest 15 minutes.
• Turn the bread over and place on the second baking sheet. Plump up the dough by tucking the ends and sides under.
• Cover with the oiled wrap and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Using a sharp knife, slash the top of the bread with 5 diagonal slashes.
• Bake for 28 minutes, or until it is golden.
• Turn unto a wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• BREAD MACHINE DIRECTIONS
• PLACE all ingredients except cornmeal and egg white in bread machine pan according to manufacturer's directions. Process on DOUGH setting.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. At end of dough cycle, remove dough from machine. Place on lightly floured surface. Punch down dough. (If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour before shaping.) Cover dough with clean cloth. Let rest for 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place loaf on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 20 to 25 minutes or until light and doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• CONVENTIONAL OVEN METHOD
• SPOON flour lightly into measuring cup. Level off. Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Mix well. Add warm water and oil. Mix well. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 30 to 40 minutes.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough. Cover dough with inverted bowl and allow to rest on counter 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place dough on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place 35 to 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• High Altitude (3500 ft.):
• No change.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch baking dish. Place 8 baguette slices in bottom of dish; press 2 baguette slices onto each side. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add spinach; toss until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to strainer; cool. Squeeze spinach dry. Transfer to medium bowl.
• Heat same pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage. Sauté until cooked through, breaking up, about 7 minutes. Mix into spinach; mix in 1 cup cheese and peppers. Spread atop baguette slices in bottom of dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend.
• Whisk in last 4 ingredients. Pour over spinach mixture and stir lightly with fork to distribute evenly. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over. Bake torta until puffed and golden and center is set, about 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• For the biga:.
• Combine the flour, yeast and water in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead on the slowest speed (stir for a KitchenAid), until it forms a shaggy dough, about 2-3 minutes.
• Transfer the biga to a medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until it begins to bubble and rise, about 3 hours.
• Refrigerate biga at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
• For the dough:.
• Remove the biga from the refrigerator and let stand at room temp while making the dough.
• To make the dough, combine flour, yeast, and water in bowl of the standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Knead the dough on lowest speed until rough dough is formed, about 3 minutes.
• Turn the mixer off and, without removing the dough hook or bowl from the mixer, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. (This allows protein in the dough to relax, making for a stronger dough that can rise higher, with a better crust.).
• Remove the plastic wrap over the dough, and add the biga and salt to bowl. Continue to knead on the lowest speed until ingredients are incorporated (dough should clear the sides of the bowl but should stick to the very bottom), about 4 minutes.
• Increase the mixer speed to low (speed 2 on a KitchenAid) and continue until the dough forms a more cohesive ball, about 1 minute.
• Transfer the dough to a large bowl (at least 3 times the size of the dough) and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a cool, draft-free spot away from direct sunlight, until slightly risen and puffy, about 1 hour.
• Remove the plastic wrap and turn the dough by doing the following: lift the left third of the dough and fold inwards towards the center, then repeat with the right third of the dough, folding inwards toward the center. Then fold the dough in half from bottom to top (perpendicular to the first two folds).
• Replace the plastic wrap and let the dough rise 1 hour.
• Turn dough again, replace plastic wrap, and let dough rise 1 hour longer.
• Dust the work surface liberally with flour. Hold the bowl with the dough at an angle over the floured surface. Gently scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto the work surface (the side of the dough that was against bowl should now be facing up). If you want two smaller loaves, split the dough into two equal halves. Use a knife or bench scraper.
• Dust the dough and your hands liberally with flour and, using minimal pressure, push dough into a rough 8- to 10-inch square. If you are making two loaves, shape each piece into a smaller rectangle.
• Shape the dough by folding the upper left corner towards the center of the square dough, then the right corner towards the center. Next, roll the dough into a log from top to bottom and place it seam-side down onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Dust loaf liberally with flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let loaf rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position, and place a baking stone on the rack. (I use a cast iron griddle flat side up.) Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. It's really important to preheat the pan in the oven to ensure even heat and optimal crust results.
• Using a single-edged razor blade, or sharp chef's knife, cut a slit 1/2 inch deep lengthwise along top of loaf, starting and stopping about 1 1/2 inches from the ends. Lightly spray the loaf with water. Slide parchment sheet with loaf onto baker's stone or cast iron griddle in the oven. If you are not using a baking stone or tile, simply place the loaf on a baking sheet in the oven.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and quickly spin loaf around half way using the edges of the parchment paper.
• Continue to bake until deep golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. For one large loaf this will be about 35 minutes longer. For two smaller loaves this will be closer to 30 minutes.
• When the bread is done, transfer it to a wire rack and discard the parchment paper. If you'd like a butter crust, immediately wipe the end of a stick of butter over the crust until coated. Now the hardest part - cool the loaf to room temperature, about 2 hours.