Beard on Bread by James Beard Read Free Book Online

all-purpose or hard-wheat flour
    3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
    1 tablespoon egg white, mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
    Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large bowl and allow to proof. Mix the salt with the flour and add to the yeast mixture, a cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough. Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surfacewith butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours.
    Punch down the dough. Turn out on a floured board and shape into two long, French bread-style loaves. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal but not buttered. Slash the tops of the loaves diagonally in two or three places, and brush with the egg wash. Place in a cold oven, set the temperature at 400°, and bake 35 minutes, or until well browned and hollow sounding when the tops are rapped.
VARIATIONS
    • For a wheaten loaf, use half white flour and half whole-wheat flour.
    • Substitute equal parts of whole-wheat flour and cracked wheat for half of the white flour.
    • For a more involved, more tightly textured loaf: Use either the original recipe or the whole-wheat variation. After the first rising, remove from the bowl, punch down, and knead again for 5 to 10 minutes. Return to the buttered bowl for a second rising. When it has doubled in bulk, form into two loaves and place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Slash with a sharp razor or knife, brush with slightly beaten egg white or water, and place in a cold oven set for 375° or 400°. Bake until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped with the knuckles.
    •  Line the oven rack with tiles , preheat the oven to 400°, and slide your bread loaves from the baking sheet directly onto the tiles, which have been sprinkled with cornmeal.
    • Add to the liquid in the first step 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil and then proceed with either the original recipe or the whole-wheat variation. You may need to use a small additional amount of flour.
    • Use ⅓ white flour, ⅓ whole-wheat, and ⅓ cracked-wheat. This will give a very nice coarse, nutlike texture to the bread. With this mixture I would advise adding olive oil in the beginning to give tenderness.
Pullman Loaf or Pain de Mie
    This is the white bread frequently used for sandwiches, a four-square loaf that has delicate texture, a fine crumb, and good flavor. It is made in a special pan with a sliding lid at the top that keeps the bread in shape as it bakes. If you do not have this type of pan, you can bake it in an ordinary pan, covered with tinfoil and lightly weighted with tiles or similar weights. However, the tins are easily available in restaurant and baking supply houses and are not expensive. This is a beautiful toasting bread, and if correctly made, it can be sliced paper thin. In addition to its excellence for sandwiches and toast, it is useful for croutons, crumbs, rolled sandwiches, little canapés, and hors d’oeuvres.
    [1 large loaf]
    2 packages active dry yeast
    1½ cups warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
    2 teaspoons granulated sugar
    6½ cups all-purpose flour
    1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons coarse salt
    1 stick (½ cup) sweet butter
    Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup of the warm water with the sugar, and let it proof. Combine 6 cups of the flour with the salt in a large bowl. Using two knives, cut the butter into the flour and salt, being careful not to overwork it. (Or using your hands, squeeze pieces of the butter into the flour very carefully.) Place the yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl and add ½ cup warm water. Then add the flour-and-butter mixture, incorporating it with one hand only and using the remaining water to create a stiff, sticky dough. Turn the dough out on a floured board and work it hard for a good 10 minutes: slap it, beat it, punch it, and give